On March 12 local time, the Norwegian Beitstad Bridge was officially opened to 
traffic. Beitstad Bridge over the Beitstad strait of the municipality of 
Steinkjer, Trondelag county in central Norway, was constructed by Sichuan Road 
and Bridge Group (SRBG), an affiliate of Sichuan Railway Investment Group Co., 
Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as SRIG). This is the first project SRBG has 
independently tendered and won in Norway, and the second bridge that the group 
has constructed in the country. 

Spanning over the Bettesta Strait, this steel-concrete composite bridge 
constitutes a part of the Norwegian County Roads 17 and 720. 

Given a large number of turns and poor road conditions in this road section, 
which is incompliant with road standards and traffic demands, local government 
proposed a renovation project in a bid to refine the traffic condition and 
improve road safety and Beitstad Bridge has played an essential part in the 
proposed project. 

SRBG stood out from bidders renowned at home and abroad with outstanding 
technology and rich experience, and took 26 months to complete the building of 
the bridge. Worthy of its name "A Bridge of Convenience," Beitstad has helped 
improve the local traffic, making commuting easier for residents living on two 
sides of the strait and linking the three towns of Sprova, Malm and Dyrstad 
closely together. Upon its completion, the bridge has injected new vitality to 
the infrastructure construction and economic growth of the local area. 

The smooth progress of the Beitstad Bridge project is not by chance. As early 
as in 2018, SRBG was recognized by the Norwegian government and people for its 
efficient and quality construction of the Halogaland Bridge.

Situated 200km north of the Arctic Circle, the Halogaland Bridge is hailed as 
the "Bridge Neighboring Aurora". Due to the extremely challenging construction 
conditions, the Owner, Norwegian Northern Highway Bureau, sought for main 
contract contractors around the globe, which aroused extensive attention 
globally. SRBG eventually overcame all the difficulties in language, polar 
climate, and stringent "Nordic standards," won the bid and completed the 
construction, thus becoming the first Chinese company to build a long-span 
bridge in a developed European country. 

The valuable experience in the bidding and construction of the Halogaland 
Bridge has paved the way for SRBG to build the Beitstad Bridge in a smooth 
manner. Based on the successful experience from the Halogaland Bridge project, 
SRBG has cultivated a host of engineers who are familiar with HSE and the 
technical standards of steel structure welding, painting and concrete 
construction in Norway and other parts of Europe, financial personnel who 
understand overseas financial accounting/audit rules, and contract engineers 
who are experienced in overseas bidding, bid invitation and subcontractor 
management. The management team of the Beitstad Bridge project is basically 
made up of personnel formerly working for the Halogaland Bridge project and 
those dispatched by the SRBG, who have immensely contributed to the project. 

As a top-flight comprehensive multinational in the infrastructure sector, SRBG 
boasts core competitiveness in construction of deep-water long-span bridges, 
highway pavements, and extra-long tunnels of complex geological conditions. Its 
masterpieces include Wanzhou Yangtze River Bridge, the reinforced concrete arch 
bridge of the world's largest span back then; Fuling Wujiang Bridge, the arch 
bridge without balanced weight swing of Asia's largest span at that time; and 
Xihoumen Cross-sea Bridge in Zhoushan, Zhejiang, 1,650m in the main span, 
China's longest and World's second longest suspension bridge then. 

The Beitstad Bridge marks a major achievement in SRBG's response to the "Belt 
and Road" Initiative and "Go overseas" strategy, and another world-recognized 
China-made project following the Halogaland Bridge project. The two bridges in 
northwest Norway, 500km apart, have been acclaimed around the world for China's 
competence in infrastructure construction. 

Currently, SRBG has extended its services to several foreign countries and 
regions such as Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Europe. Apart from 
the Norwegian projects, the group has undertaken international projects in 
Bangladesh, Kuwait, Cambodia, Tanzania and Senegal for construction of highways 
and bridges, among other projects. 

Source: Sichuan Road and Bridge Group