Month: November 2020

Japanese airline company All Nippon Airways (ANA) has announced it will resume the scheduling of two direct flights per week from Tokyo’s Narita International Airport to Phnom Penh International Airport between Dec 1, 2020 and Jan 31, 2021.

The resumption was attributed to the strengthening of quarantine measures in each region, changes in immigration conditions and other precautions being implemented, as well as an increased demand in travel over the traditional holiday period.

According to the airline, the two round trip flights each week will depart on Wednesdays and Saturdays on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner which has a capacity of 184 people.

The flights will depart from Narita at 4pm, arriving in Phnom Penh at 9pm, and depart Phnom Penh at 10:50pm, arriving in Narita at 06:40+1am.

According to the company’s website, one-way class fares have been set at $719 for economy and $1,507 for business.

In addition, ANA will also increase the number of flights serving the Narita to Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City and Yangon corridors

According to the company’s full statement released yesterday All Nippon Airways will temporarily change flight frequency to select cities in Asia, Europe and North America.

“Based on changes to immigration guidelines, recently instituted public health quarantine measures and passenger demand, the company has adjusted its flight schedules from December to January for select routes,” it said.

“ANA will continue to monitor local immigration restrictions and quarantine guidelines as well as demand trends and travel viability as it decides on the frequency of flights and when to resume certain routes,” it added.

According to the data released by Cambodia Airports, October passenger traffic is currently down 92 percent at the Phnom Penh International Airport (37,908 people) compared with the same month last year, with year-to-date passenger traffic down 74.2 percent (1,271,000 passengers) compared with 2019.

The pandemic has affected bilateral trade between Cambodia and Japan. Worth $1.548 billion in the third quarter of 2020, it is down 25 percent compared with the same period last year, according to the Japan External Trade Organisation.

Under current Ministry of Health requirements, all foreigners must get a visa from a Cambodian embassy and passengers must be tested within 72 hours of their departure.

Everyone, including Cambodian nationals, are tested upon arrival at the airport, quarantined and tested again after 13 days.

Cambodia’s Ministry of Public Works and Transport has confirmed that the construction of the country’s first-ever expressway will complete as planned despite the COVID-19 crisis.

Vasim Sorya, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, said late last week that as of November, the construction is 27 percent complete and the construction process has reportedly been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Generally, the construction does not seem to be affected, but the construction firm’s staff, who had left for China, have not come back yet,” he said, mentioning the delay in transportation of some construction materials due to the pandemic.

The firm has been committed to complete the construction as planned, he added.

The $2 billion Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville expressway project is being developed by the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC). Scheduled to open by March 2023, the expressway is divided into four lanes with a total length of 190 kilometres across five cities and provinces.

The Cambodian Government has revised the entry requirements for foreign travellers entering the Kingdom, with varying measures depending on whether arrivals are sponsored or not.

The announcement came via a directive issued by Health Minister Man Bun Heng.

“Foreign arrivals from China, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, the European Union and the US who have a sponsor, must produce a health certificate with negative COVID-19 results valid from within 72 hours of departure. They must then take a further test upon arrival and isolate in a hotel until the test results are released and show a negative result,” it said.

“They can then leave, however, they will be required to submit a schedule of their actions before they leave which will be kept by authorities and they must then keep to that schedule,” it said.

The directive said that sponsors of passengers must be an executive director, company shareholder, business association president, or investment project owner in a special economic zone, who are responsible for all expenses of those they guarantee, including the cost of treatment if they test positive for coronavirus at any stage.

Diplomats must also show a certificate to prove they are virus-free within 72 hours of their departure, followed by a test upon arrival, and wait at least 24 hours at a hotel or quarantine facility while waiting for their results, the directive said.

Meanwhile, arrivals from other countries or those who do not have sponsorship are now not permitted to self-quarantine. They must stay at a government-designated hotel for a mandatory quarantine of two weeks, with the $2,000 deposit and mandatory health insurance still a requirement.

In addition, Cambodian’s – holding either a Cambodian or foreign passport – must also undergo quarantine under the supervision of the state. They can choose to stay at state-run quarantine centres for free or at a designated hotel where they will be charged at the same rate as foreigners.

The new requirement will go into effect from November 18 onward, the Ministry directive added.

Japanese firms have mulled their investment on the waste-to-energy plant and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) storage stations in Cambodia.

This was said by Mikami Masahiro, Ambassador of Japan to Cambodia, in a meeting with Suy Sem, Minister of Mines and Energy, in Phnom Penh earlier in the week.

The Ambassador said that the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected the world and impacted many development projects.

However, the importance is that Cambodia and Japan have to work together for the future through dialogue to promote development of investment projects between the two countries.

The minister welcomed the Japanese investment projects in the energy sector, stressing that Cambodia is adjusting electricity supply plan to respond to the country’s rapid development.

The waste-to-energy projects in Cambodia have been proposed by many investment companies, but due to the high cost of investment compared to other energy projects, no investment has been taken to the ground.