Bridge offers 'gateway to tomorrow'

A cross-sea bridge built with Chinese aid which has been described as a "gateway to tomorrow" opened in the island nation of Maldives on Thursday.

"Today the impossible is possible," Maldives President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayyoom said while addressing an opening ceremony in the capital Male before leading vehicles over the China-Maldives Friendship Bridge linking its two most important islands.

He outlined how he and Chinese President Xi Jinping reached an agreement on the project during Xi's visit in September 2014.