The Nepal-China Friendship Bridge (Miteri bridge) at the Rasuwagadhi border point in Rasuwa district was formally opened to traffic on Thursday. The bridge was constructed with the Chinese aid after the old bridge was damaged in the 2015 earthquake.

Rasuwa Customs Office chief Punya Bikram Khadka said that the newly constructed 110-metre bridge came into operation with cargo trucks crossing the border point.

Although the bridge is now officially declared “open”, the Chinese side is planning to officially handover the bridge to Nepal next week.

The new bridge was built by Tibet Engineering Company Limited’s Tan Sun Road and Bridge. The Chinese company had dismantled the old bridge as it had sustained massive damage in the middle section due to a landslide triggered by the earthquake.

The successful operation of the bridge also spurred the completion of the 150-metre double lane road section on the Nepali side.

Nepal and China had signed a deal to resume operations at the border point during Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s official visit to the northern neighbour in June 2018. House Speaker Krishna Bahadur Mahara had remotely laid the foundation stone of the bridge in Lhasa on September 8, 2018.