Neiafu in Vava'u, will get a new $12 million bridge across the Vaipua causeway soon.

An exchange of letters of agreement between the People's Republic of China and the Kingdom of Tonga marked the beginning of the construction of a new Vaipua Bridge, said HE Mr Fan Guijin, the Chinese ambassador to Tonga this morning in Nuku'alofa.

In a special ceremony at Tonga's Ministry for Foreign Affairs the Governor of Vava'u, Hon. Tu'a Taumoepeau Tupou and HE Mr Fan Guijin signed and exchanged letters of agreement.

Tonga's Ministry for Foreign Affairs said they wanted to fast-track the project because of an urgent need by the people of Vava'u, especially those who needed access from the Western Region to and from Neiafu. The existing Vaipua Bridge was declared unsafe in 2007.

The construction of a new 85 metre long and 9 metre wide bridge with two lanes will start early next year, according to Yueguo Huang, the First Secretary for Economic and Commerce at the Chinese Embassy.

Yueguo said that at a cost of about $12 million pa'anga the Vaipua bridge will be made out of concrete and it should last "maybe 50 years."