A bridge in Tibet's Shigatse Prefecture that is scheduled to open in October is expected to increase bilateral trade between China and Nepal, Tibetan officials said.

The bridge in Gyirong Valley in the prefecture's Gyirong county will also help revitalize Gyirong Port, once a major land port in Tibet, said Wang Long, director of Gyirong Customs.

Gyirong Port was built in 1962 at an elevation of 2,700 meters. Trade at the port began to drop off in the mid-'80s and continued to decline through 2006. Officers at Gyirong at the time were temporarily moved.

As of now, residents on the border of Nepal and the Tibet autonomous region currently rely on the Rasuwa Gadhi bridge, built by Switzerland, for trade and for visiting relatives. But due to the strong religious, cultural, business and interpersonal ties between Nepal and Tibet, the bridge has been insufficient to sustain the frequency of trade and exchanges between the two regions.

"Every day an average of 200 metric tons of goods are carried by people across the bridge between China and Nepal," said Wang Zhongxiang, an official with the Gyirong Frontier Inspection Station.

"The trade is inconvenient because goods are transported on the bridge by motorbikes or carried on people's backs."

Wang Long, the customs director, said: "The new bridge means great convenience for transportation of goods, passengers and vehicles."

Rajan Bhattarai, a customs inspector at Rasuwa, Nepal, said: "We believe trade will be more dynamic and multifaceted between the two sides upon the completion of the new bridge and the port."

Lhakpa, a Tibetan wholesaler in Gyirong, said: "Reopening of the new port is useful because we can transport our goods via vehicles on the newly built bridge."

"I believe my income will increase sharply once the port is officially reopened in October," he said.