PHNOM PENH: Cambodia's first expressway is expected to be completed ahead of schedule, says the country's Minister of Public Works and Transport Sun Chanthol.
Jointly funded by China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) and the Cambodian government, the US$2-billion Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway will connect the capital city of Phnom Penh and the deep-sea port province of Preah Sihanouk in the country's south-western part.
The construction of the expressway began in March 2019 and is scheduled to be completed in March 2023. It is believed that the firm will be able to finish the project by September 2022, Chanthol said, according to the live broadcast on the ministry's official Facebook page.
"So far, about 55 per cent of the construction has been completed," he told reporters on Monday during a visit to a stretch of the road in Kampong Speu province.
At a width of 24.5m with two lanes on either side, vehicles can travel at a speed of 100kph, so it will take only two hours to travel between the two destinations, compared with five hours at present, he said.
The minister added that the road will play a key role in helping boost Cambodia's economic growth as it links the capital city to the largest seaport in the country.
Chanthol said the project has created over 3,000 jobs for Cambodians, and about 66 per cent of them have been fully vaccinated with two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine.
"This project benefits Cambodian workers because it provides them with technical know-how on building an expressway. We hope they will be able to use their knowledge to build other expressways in Cambodia," he added.
The highway is one of the Cambodia-China cooperation projects under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative.
The 187.05-km Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway is based on a build-operate-transfer basis. — Xinhua
