In 2001, the Kizuna bridge was opened in what was then Kampong Cham District. It was the first bridge to be built over the Mekong river in Cambodia. The Kizuna bridge links eastern and western Cambodia by road for the first time. It links the provincial capital of Kampong Cham with Tonle Bet in Tboung Khmum district. Construction of the bridge began in 1999 and took three years to complete. An estimated 10,000 people crowded the bridge for the opening ceremony.