STORY: Chinese-built bridge boosts development of N. Norway
SHOOTING TIME: Dec. 9, 2023
DATELINE: Dec. 11, 2023
LENGTH: 0:02:15
LOCATION: NARVIK, Norway
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the Halogaland Bridge

STORYLINE:

The Chinese-built Halogaland Bridge near Narvik, Norway's northern port city, has spurred local economic growth, especially benefiting the local fisheries and mining industries, and enhancing overall regional prosperity.

Stretching 1,533 meters with a span of 1,145 meters, the Halogaland Bridge, built by China's Sichuan Road and Bridge Group (SRBG), is Norway's second largest and the Arctic Circle's longest suspension bridge.

It offers an important shortcut for European route E6 - the main north-south road through Norway and the west coast of Sweden.

Data from BPS Nord, northern Norway's regional toll group, reveals the bridge's burgeoning significance.

In the past year alone, over 1.59 million vehicles crossed the Halogaland Bridge, 16 percent more than in 2021 and 35 percent more than in 2019.

The daily average of 4,300 vehicles is expected to grow, signaling the bridge's increasing role in regional connectivity.

The Halogaland Bridge has also become a local landmark, renowned for its elegant design.

Its imagery has been a common sight at Harstad-Narvik Airport, Narvik's visitor center, restaurants and hotels, celebrated as "one of the world's most beautiful bridges."

In 2020, the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering nominated the Halogaland Bridge for the "IABSE Outstanding Structure Award."

Although it narrowly missed winning against China's Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, the nomination itself drew global attention.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Narvik, Norway.
(XHTV)