Chinese Government provides RMB 2.22 billion grant for New Yalu River Bridge Construction Project

In 2007, China’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wu Dawei visited North Korea and proposed constructing a new bridge over the Amrok [Yalu] River to replace the aging ‘Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge’.

Then, in October 2009, Premier Wen Jiabao visited North Korea to make the deal official and the Chinese Government agreed to take on the bridge construction costs.

Then, on February 25, 2010, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of North Korea signed the Agreement between the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on Joint Construction, Management and Maintenance of the Yalu River Boundary Highway Bridge in Dandong City, Liaoning Province (中朝鸭绿江界河公路大桥 in Chinese).

The initial estimated project cost was RMB 1.98 billion, but this figure later increased to RMB 2.22 billion.

The purpose of the project is to construct a new (river) road bridge across the Amnok River between Dandong, Liaoning Province, China, and Sinuiju, North Korea.

The cable-stayed bridge, which is 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) long including the supporting roads, is intended as a replacement for the Sino–Korean Friendship Bridge.

When the bridge is completed, the existing Amnok River Bridge (located approximately 10km away from the new bridge) will be restricted to railroad traffic only, and general road traffic to-and-from North Korea and China will be rerouted to the new bridge.

The existing Amnok River Bridge (‘Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge’) has been cited as a bottleneck for the blooming trade industry between North Korea and China for several reasons. The bridge, built in 1911, accommodates both a railway and roadway, but has only one lane.

Furthermore, its old age has sparked safety concerns; trucks weighing over 20 tons have been prohibited from using the bridge. CCCC Second Harbor Engineering Co., Ltd. is the contractor responsible for implementation. A formal groundbreaking ceremony took place on December 31, 2010 and main bridge closure was achieved in 2013.

However, the project reportedly ‘stalled’ between 2014 and 2019.

On October 31, 2014, the Chinese state-run Global Times media outlet reported that the North Korean Government had not honored its commitment to construct access roads to the bridge and as such, the project was indefinitely on hold.

However, when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited North Korea in June 2019, he reportedly promised to bear the full cost of constructing roads and customs posts on the North Korean side of the bridge. Then, in September 2019, Kim Jong-un issued "Order No. 1”, which called for the completion and opening of the bridge.

By the end of the month, construction of access roads and customs posts on the North Korean side of the bridge began.

Then, at the end of January 2020, North Korea blocked the border between China and North Korea and evacuated all construction personnel due to the spread of COVID-19. By April 2020 the project was reportedly nearing completion. However, in mid-August 2020, the project was stopped again. Then, in October 2020, project implementation re-commenced.

As of March 2021, the bridge was expected to be put into operation during the second half of 2021.