The Republic of Moldova and Romania will jointly mark, on Saturday, the launch of the construction of the first motorway bridge over the Prut River in the last six decades - the Ungheni Bridge, through a symbolic event generically called the 'Flower Bridge' Festival.

The bridge will connect the Zagarancea locality in Ungheni district (the Republic of Moldova) and the Golaesti commune in Iasi county (Romania), being part of the Unirii Motorway (A8), with a major role in the interconnection of the two national road networks - the Targu Mures - Iasi - Ungheni Motorway and the future Ungheni - Chisinau Motorway, both with an estimated completion date of 2030.

This is the first of the five new bridges over the Prut River set for execution, for which there is already a design and execution contract signed last fall.

Officials from Chisinau, Bucharest, Brussels will participate in the event, along with local authorities and citizens from both banks of the Prut.

The 'Flower Bridge' festival will start at 12:00 hours in Independence Square in Ungheni, which will become the scene of a landmark event for the relationship between Romania and the Republic of Moldova.

And starting at 15:30 hours, drilling work will begin on both banks of the Prut River, through a demonstration with the participation of citizens, officials and the press, in the village of Zagarancea, on the bridge construction site.AGERPRES(RO - writing by: Mariana Ionescu; EN - writing by: Bogdan Gabaroi)