Agence France Presse
June 28, 2001

A 331-kilometre (205-mile) stretch of the Mekong River running through Laos and  Myanmar will be dredged under a project co-funded by China.

A 331-kilometre (205-mile) stretch of the Mekong River running through Laos and Myanmar will be dredged under a project co-funded by China, Chinese state media reported Thursday.

Xinhua news agency said the dredging operation will eventually enable 100-ton ships to sail on the river.

The stretch of Mekong to be dredged runs from the number 243 demarcation stone between China and Myanmar to Houyxay in north-western Laos.

Xinhua said China would invest more than five million dollars in the project.

The dredging and other operations will boost the the annual navigation capacity of the Lancang-Mekong River system from four million tons to 10 million tons by 2007, Xinhua said.