Month: July 2020

Sihanoukville port plans further deep water port expansion

Sihanoukville Autonomous Port (PAS) plans to expand deep port terminal into phase II and phase III aiming to handle the container traffic at the port, as the traffic of containers are predicted to increase in the years to come.

The studies on phase II and phase III of the deep port terminal expansion have been made and the port is seeking budget from the line ministry and development partners to develop the project, said Mr. Thay Rithy, PAS’ Deputy Director General.

The phase II and III are scheduled to begin in 2027 or 2028, Mr. Rithy told AKP.

At present, the ships entering and leaving here are small vessels, but to make the port a gateway for the country’s development and an independent economic gateway that connects Cambodia to other countries, leaders of line ministry and port are thinking of consecutive development plans,” he said.

As planned, the port terminal will be expanded to 410 metre long and 16 metre deep, and 440 metre long with 17.5 metres in depth for phase II and phase III, respectively.

The capacity development and enhancement of the port terminal are aimed to connect directly the maritime transport from Cambodia to the EU and the United States, he added.

PAS is capable of handling 700,000 TEUs and currently, the container traffic handling capacity reached about 80 percent.
“The capacity is almost full, so if there is a rapid increase of some 15 percent or more, we are stuck,” he said.

The construction of deep port terminal- phase I is scheduled to start in 2021 and complete in 2024.

Cambodia, China conclude bilateral FTA negotiations

Negotiations on the establishment of a free trade agreement (FTA) between the Kingdom of Cambodia and the People’s Republic of China were officially concluded on July 20, 2020, after half a year of negotiations.

The official announcement on the end of the FTA negotiations was made via Videoconference by Pan Sorasak, Cambodian Minister of Commerce, and his Chinese counterpart Zhong Shan.

On the occasion, the two commerce ministers spoke highly of the Cambodia-China FTA, which reflects the traditional and long-lasting relationship as well as the comprehensive partnership of cooperation between the two countries.

The successful conclusion of a free trade agreement in a short period of time shows the strong commitment of both countries’ leaders to strengthen closer and broader relations. This FTA will bring about many economic and social benefits to the people of the two countries through the liberalisation of trade in goods and services, the promotion of comprehensive investment, as well as cooperation in a number of areas.

For the next step, both sides will implement their respective internal procedures leading to the signing of the bilateral FTA this year. Phal Sophanith – AKP

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Vietnamese enterprises invest approximately $2.7 billion in Cambodia

Vietnamese enterprises have invested approximately $2.7 billion in Cambodia, coming third behind Laos which received the most investment capital from Vietnamese enterprises at nearly $5 billion in registered capital from 208 projects.

This was followed by Russia at approximately $2.8 billion, Cambodia and Venezuela at about $1.8 billion.

Last year saw Vietnamese businesses pour an estimated $21 billion into more than 1,300 projects in foreign countries, with profits transferred home reaching roughly $3 billion, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment of Viet Nam.

Included in the figure are a number of major schemes, such as Viettel’s telecom network project in Cambodia at $22.1 million, an oil and gas project run by PetroVietnam in Russia at over $170 million and Petrolimex’s programme in Singapore at nearly $10 million.

Viettel’s Metfone boasts about 50% market share, 99 percent network coverage and more than 10 million subscribers, being in the top three of the telco giants in Cambodia.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment stated that the retained earnings for reinvestment stood at roughly $363 million. Most notably, last year saw retained profits for reinvestment reach over $23.1 million, with businesses contributing roughly $22 million as state financial obligations from overseas investments.

Along with the repatriated capital, local businesses have also been active in creating significant assets such as factories and manufacturing facilities worth several billions of dollars abroad. VOV

New expressway, Capital to Bavet city

The Cambodian government has plans to build an expressway from Phnom Penh to Svay Rieng province’s Bavet city, said the Office of the Council of Ministers in a statement released today.

In the letter signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen on Wednesday, he ordered the Ministry of Transport and Public Works, Ministry of Finance and Office of the Council of Ministers with other related authorities to form a committee to draw up the plans for this project.

China Railway International Group Co Ltd It will be the investors of this project.

Bavet city is located at the border between Cambodia and Vietnam. The construction of this expressway will facilitate transportation and transfer of goods across the country from Phnom Penh to the provinces along the road to Svay Rieng, as well as Vietnam.

Substitute holidays set for August

Lieu days for the postponed Khmer New Year holidays will be set from August 17 to 21, a government sub-decree obtained by Khmer Times today revealed.

The decision comes after Prime Minister Hun Sen earlier this week ordered the Cabinet to convene and decide a date for the substitute holidays.

In a voice message sent to the Cabinet, Mr Hun Sen said the government must compensate the public as promised as the COVID-19 situation in the Kingdom is under control.

By tradition, the Khmer New Year holidays take place in April, allowing the public a brief respite from work and giving them a chance to travel to their home provinces to celebrate.

However, this year’s festivities were postponed with the onslaught of the pandemic.

Construction of Phnom Penh’s third ring road completed 40 percent

The construction of Phnom Penh’s third ring road has been completed nearly 40 percent, according to the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MPWT).

The third ring road stretches from National Road 4 in Chumpu Voan village, Chaom Chau district, crossing National Road 3 and 2 to National Road 1, connecting to Phnom Penh port’s new terminal with a total distance of 52.98km and a width of 22m.

Lim Sydenin, MPWT’s secretary of state said that the road is built to facilitate goods transportation to Phnom Penh and reduce traffic congestions. He said the construction is scheduled to be complete by 2021.

According to Sydenin, the government is conducting feasibility study on the fourth ring road project, connecting to road 51 and 41 to ease the increasing goods transportation in the future.