FSM Information Services
Press Release
The People’s Republic of China Formally Hands Over the Kahmar Bridge Project to the FSM National Government, Who in Turn Formally Handed the Bridge to Pohnpei State
PALIKIR, Pohnpei—On August 20th, 2020, the Honorable Yosiwo P. George, Vice President of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), spoke on the occasion of the formal handover ceremony on the completion of the Kahmar Bridge Project. The Kahmar Bridge, reconstructed by the People’s Republic of China (China) through the FSM-China Great Friendship, serves as a crucial artery in Pohnpei State’s Municipality of Nett.
“This bridge will become a symbol of our healthy Great Friendship between our two peoples,” Vice President George said in his statement. “This bridge will not only connect our Governments and improve access to the inlands of Nett, but will also contribute to the economic and social development of Nett, Pohnpei more broadly, and the Great Friendship between the FSM and China.”
“I would like to thank the China Railway 14th Bureau that implemented the project…. I also thank you, [His Excellency Huang Zheng, Ambassador of China to the FSM], and your Government’s continued monetary and medical supplies assistance towards our Nation’s COVID-19 relief efforts. They are contributing to the embodiment of our Great Friendship, built on the bedrock of mutual respect and the One-China Policy, which we have upheld and supported for nearly 31 years and will continue to do so in the decades and centuries to come.”
The Kahmar Bridge is 56 meters long (~184 feet) and 10 meters wide (~33 feet), and represents approximately $3,200,000 (3.2 million dollars) of assistance. Originally signed in a Technical and Economic Cooperation Agreement in 2015, construction began on the Bridge on June 26th, 2019. While formal completion of the Bridge had occurred some months prior, the official opening ceremony was delayed due to requirements for proper vetting and inspection which occurred electronically due to the unique situation imposed by the COVID-19 Pandemic.
