Sri Lanka is to rebuild a bridge that was destroyed in an iconic scene from the classic 1957 movie “Bridge on the River Kwai.”

The film was set on the Kelani River at Kithulgala, which has become a tourist attraction for its white-water rapids.

However, when Sri Lanka's Electricity Board announced it was to dam the river as part of an $82m hydroelectric project, locals who have come to depend on the revenue that tourists bring raised concerns that they would lose their income.

Authorities hope the bridge will appease locals, who fear a planned dam will harm an area popular for water sports. The bridge is to be built within the next two years.

The scene in which the replica bridge is blown up has become one of the most famous in cinematic history. The film, directed by David Lean, received widespread critical acclaim and won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and it had a cast including renowned actors Alec Guinness, William Holden and Jack Hawkins.

The actual bridge on the River Kwai is located in Thailand in Kachanburi, and stretches over a part of the Mae Klong river, which was renamed Khwae Yai (Thai for big tributary).

The railway route, which ran through Burma and Thailand, had been planned by the British. But after the region was seized by the Japanese in 1942, they then set about making preparations to build the railway. The railway line was meant to transport cargo daily to India, to back up their planned attack on India. The construction was done using POWs and Asian slave laborers in unfavorable conditions. The work started in October 1942 was completed in a year. Due to the difficult terrain, thousands of laborers lost their lives. It is believed that one life was lost for each sleeper laid in the track.

The film was based on a French novel by Pierre Boulle.