COLOMBO, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse ceremonially opened the island's longest bridge on Tuesday in Kinniya, about 350 km northeastern from the capital Colombo, according to government officials.

The Kinniya bridge is seen in this photo dated on Oct. 20, 2009. The 398-meter-long bridge was ceremonially opened by Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse on Oct. 20, 2009 in Kinniya, about 350 kilometers northeast of the capital Colombo. Constructed across the Kinniya lagoon, the island's longest bridge was built with a financial assistance of 790 million rupees (about 6.87 million U.S. dollars) from Saudi Arabia. (Xinhua) Photo Gallery>>>

    This 398-meter-long bridge, constructed across the Kinniya lagoon, connects China Bay in Trincomallee, the capital of the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka and Kinniya, a rural village in the province.

    The bridge was constructed under the Negenahira Navodaya (Reawakening the East) development program of the government launched after the Eastern Province was recaptured by the troops from the hands of the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE)in 2007.

    With a cost of 790 million rupees (6.9 million U.S. dollars), the bridge was built with the financial assistance of Saudi Arabia, officials from the Presidential Secretariat said.

    The 10-meter-wide bridge provides 7.4 meters width for vehicles and 1.5 meters for pedestrians.

    Before the completion of the bridge, civilians from Trincomallee frequently cross the Kinniya Lagoon to reach Kinniya and Muttur areas by a ferry.

    It is one of the development programs in the Eastern Province aimed at spurring economic growth and assisting local communities to recover from the devastating tsunami and the long-term armed conflict.