The construction of the fourth bridge over the Panama Canal has reached an important milestone. On November 1st, the first layer of concrete for the main tower pier of the project, which was constructed by China Communications Construction and China Harbour Joint Venture, officially began pouring, marking significant progress in the construction of what Panama officially calls the "most important project in the country".

Jos é Luis Andrade, the Minister of Public Works of Panama, stated in his speech at the pouring ceremony that this is a historic milestone in the construction of the bridge and emotionally said, "Today, more than ever, we are proud to be Panamanians." Several Panamanian ministerial level officials attended the ceremony that day.

Andrade introduced that the fourth bridge is scheduled to be completed in October 2028, and the overall progress has exceeded 27%, which is in line with the expected goal. He emphasized that the bridge, as a key passage connecting North and South America and connecting the east and west coasts, will greatly improve the lives of residents.

According to Le Li, the general manager of the Fourth Bridge project, the achievement of this key milestone marks a smooth transition from the uncertain underground foundation construction stage to the above ground structure construction stage for the construction of the East Main Tower, laying a solid foundation for the subsequent construction of the main tower columns. Keywords: the Belt and Road project news, the Belt and Road news

The main bridge is a double tower double cable plane cable-stayed bridge structure with a total length of 965 meters. The main tower is designed in an "H" shape with a height of 186 meters. As the largest single bridge project currently undertaken by Chinese enterprises in Latin America, and also the largest economic and trade cooperation project between China and Pakistan, its construction process is expected to create 3000 direct jobs and more indirect jobs. After the completion of the bridge, it will significantly improve the travel conditions of about 2 million residents on both sides of the canal, effectively promoting local economic development. Editor/Yang Beihua