Southeast Asia's longest cross-sea bridge completed in Indonesia

(Xinhua) -- The longest cross-sea bridge in Southeast Asia, the Suramadu Bridge linking East Java province and Madura Island in Indonesia, also known as the Surabaya-Madura Bridge was completed on Wednesday and opened to the public.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said at the opening ceremony which was attended by about 5,000 people that all Indonesian people are proud of the construction of the Suramadu Bridge.

The bridge as an indication of the development of Indonesia, will benefit the economic development in East Java province where it located, especially the development in Madura island which is undeveloped compared with other areas in the country, he added.

The president thanked the support from partners for the construction of the bridge, especially the support from a Chinese company.

Chinese Ambassador to Indonesia Zhang Qiyue said in an interview with Xinhua that the bridge is one of the most significant cooperative projects between China and Indonesia. It's also a good symbol of the bilateral relationship for economic and technical cooperation.

"With the completion and operation of the bridge, it is believed that the bridge can provide smooth traffic campaigns for both Surabaya and Madura residents and make its own contributions to the local economic and social development," said the Chinese ambassador.

Meanwhile, Indonesian Public Works Minister Djoko Kirmanto said, "With the great efforts made by the China Road and Bridge Corporation, the main contractor, I'm confident to ensure that the bridge will make great contributions to the economic development in East Java and Madura as well as to promote the economic development in the whole country."

The total length of the bridge reached 5,438 meters covering the 1,458-meter causeway in Surabaya, the 1,818-meter causeway on the Madula side and the mid-section consisting of a cable-stayed main span with a length of 818 meters and two approach bridges with a total length of 1,344 meters.

The construction contract for the building of the bridge was signed on September 24, 2004 between the China construction company and the Indonesian Public Works Ministry with 90 percent of financing support from the China Export and Import Bank by using concessional loans from China for the mid-section.

Construction of the bridge commenced in October, 2005.