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The Government of Japan has agreed to provide $754,321 to support the areas of education and agriculture in Cambodia, under the framework, The Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects.

The Grant Contract was signed Friday between Japanese Ambassador to Cambodia Mikami Masahiro, and the representatives of recipient organisations, it added.

According to the press release, some $371,479 of the total amount will be given to Non-Profit Organisation Hearts of Gold Hearts of Gold to carry out the ‘Project on Developing 4-year University of Physical Education Course at National Institute of Physical Education and Sport (Year 2)’ by improving curriculum, training teachers and installing facilities for physical education.

Through this project, approximately 65 staff and 300 teacher trainees in the institute will be able to gain better learning environment for physical education. Also over 930,000 students in Cambodia are expected to receive more effective physical education.

For its part, the International Volunteers of Yamagata (IVY) will receive about $382,842 for the project ‘Support to the smallholder farmers through contract farming of organic cashew nuts through Agriculture Cooperation (Year 3)’.

In this project, IVY will promote organic cashew nuts cultivation and cooperative marketing among farmers in Preah Vihear province to increase their income and improve their quality of life.

For the final year of this three-year project, three newly added Agricultural Cooperatives (AC) besides ongoing 10 ACs will aim to obtain an organic certification and to establish a lasting production process control system that enables each AC to become an executing entity of continued cooperative marketing and production process management after the project period.

The Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects started in Cambodia in 2002 to support activities by Japanese NGOs to help Cambodia’s reconstruction and development efforts at the grassroots level.

Since 2002, the Government of Japan has provided over $42 million for 133 projects, mainly in the fields of primary education, health, agriculture and mine clearance in Cambodia.

Cambodia and Japan will organise the 21st Public-Private Sector Meeting on Feb. 11 to further boost Japanese investment in Cambodia.

The upcoming meeting will be co-chaired by Sok Chenda Sophea, Minister Attached to the Prime Minister and Secretary General of the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC), and Mikami Masahiro, Japanese Ambassador to Cambodia.

According to a CDC’s announcement, the bilateral meeting is part of the Aftercare-service mechanism which gives Japanese investors the opportunity to address challenges and make request to representatives of the Cambodian ministries/agencies to review and take appropriate actions so as to promote Japanese investment in Cambodia as well as to improve investment and business environment in Cambodia.

The 21st Cambodia-Japan Public-Private Sector Meeting will be held under the framework of the Agreement between the Kingdom of Cambodia and Japan for the Liberalisation, Promotion and Protection of Investment signed by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe on June 14, 2007, it pointed out.

The Cambodia-Japan Joint Committee Meeting has been organised biannually and the first meeting was held on Aug. 11, 2009.

The Steung Trang-Krouch Chhmar Bridge has reached 95 percent completion and has been unaffected by the COVID-19 related delays that have plagued other projects in the Kingdom.

The bridge’s construction has completed all its engineering stages and asphalt is currently being laid on the bridge deck with its guardrails also being installed.

The project will be completed ahead of schedule in March 2021. It was originally due for completion in May 2021, said the Ministry of Public Works.

“The bridge will make a significant contribution to transportation, travel and cargo transport for the people of Kampong Cham and Tbong Khmum provinces,” according to the Ministry.

Formally known as the Cambodia- China Friendship Bridge, the steel fibre structure will span 1,131 metres in length and 13.50 metres.

Construction started on February 9, 2018 at a total cost of nearly $57 million and was funded by concessional loans from the Government of China and by a Royal Government of Cambodia fund for solving the impact and enabling the clearance of unexploded ordnance.

The National Road 3 improvement project is now 83 percent complete and expected to be finished by mid-2022.

This update was shared by the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MPWT) this week, stressing that the completion of the project will be on time as initially planned.

National Road 3 is 134.8 kilometres long and connects Phnom Penh to Kampot. The improvement costs were estimated as close to $219million, and were funded in the Royal Government’s budget by a referential buyer’s credit loan from the government of China. Construction is being undertaken by the China Road and Bridge Corp, with technical advice provided by Guangzhou Wanan Construction Supervision Co Ltd.

National Road 3 will vitally support the nations’ tourism, economy and transportation system upon its completion. It is a pivotal national road with many industries and factories along its route, making it an important addition to the nations’ industrial corridor as it connects to National Road 4, which leads to Cambodia’s largest deep-water port.

Vasim Sorya, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, said: “The project is on track and could even be finished slightly before the scheduled target. [Erecting] the road markings and signage and adding overpass bridges [will mark the final stage of the project’s completion].”

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.

The Ministry of Tourism has unveiled plans to establish a new Siem Reap city – Grand Siem Reap –, located near the under-construction new Siem Reap Airport in Sotr Nikum district, Siem Reap province.

The new city, part of Siem Reap Tourism Development Master Plan, will be developed into a Smart City, but the city will be designed following Khmer architecture, said Thong Khon, Minister of Tourism, after a recapitulative meeting .

“The establishment of Grand Siem Reap is to support the old city of Siem Reap which cannot accommodate high-rise buildings or constructions that can affect cultural heritage,” he explained.

However, the specific date for the project to begin has not been unveiled. Mr Khon said a working team is studying the project in detail.

Scores of 20 major investment projects have been proposed in the Siem Reap Tourism Development Master Plan 2020-2035.

Regarding the plan, the Ministry of Public Works and Transport is going to build 38 roads in Siem Reap to enhance the economy and beauty of the province, as well as to help connect the city centre to rural areas.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the 38 roads is scheduled for mid-November under the presidency of Prime Minister Hun Sen. Chea Vannak – AKP

The European Union has contributed just under $2.4 million to Cambodia for the safe re-opening of schools and the continuing education of children, as part of their support for COVID-19 response and recovery.

Using this support, a nationwide back-to-school campaign has been launched by the Ministry of Education, the EU and Unicef which provides practical guidance to children, parents, teachers and school personnel on how to make schools as safe as possible to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission.

According to a Unicef press statement yesterday, the campaign will continue through next year and expand to include valuable and engaging information, not only to make schools safe, but also to create healthy and caring environments for children to learn and thrive.

Critical hygiene supplies are also being delivered to all 11,500 of the country’s pre-schools and primary schools. The EU’s contribution to these efforts, through the Unicef-managed multi-donor Capacity Development Partnership Fund (CDPF), is complemented by other CDPF partners, including Sweden, USAID and the Global Partnership for Education.

These partners are contributing to the provision of hygiene supplies to all 1,771 secondary schools in Cambodia.

Minister of Education Hang Chuon Naron said: “We welcome the additional support from the EU for our schools and students across the country during this very challenging time. This support will enable us to ensure children have continued opportunities to learn, despite the challenges COVID-19 is creating. The support for safe school re-openings from the EU and other CDPF partners will go a long way towards giving confidence to communities that students can now return to safe and supportive learning environment.”