Plans to build a Phnom Penh-Saigon expressway are moving forward.
Cambodian Transport Ministry spokesman Nou Vathanak told The Cambodia Daily that since 2016, its government has been looking into a potential 167-kilometer toll road connecting Phnom Penh and Saigon through Svay Rieng province’s Bavet border crossing. There is currently a route from Saigon to Phnom Penh which also passes through Bavet, however it is 232 kilometers long.
“[The new expressway] will serve to increase the logistics, speed, quality and safety of [the transport of] goods,” Vathanak shared with the news source, emphasizing the need for private investment and cooperation between the two countries.
The spokesman did not give specific details relating to potential costs or a timeline for the project, as the two countries are still discussing its logistics.
According to a public statement, Vietnam’s transport minister Truong Quang Nghia said Vietnam will demonstrate a “strong commitment to continue to assist Cambodia in the infrastructure development and improved connectivity”, the news source reports.
In 2014, the Japanese International Cooperation Agency proposed the construction of a similar route, according to the Daily. This expressway would have cut travel time between the two cities in half.
In mid-2016, Vietnam also put forth a US$55million plan to build a section of road between Saigon’s Hoc Mon District and Tay Ninh’s Moc Bai border crossing which would link to a larger expressway system connecting Saigon and Phnom Penh.
[Photo via Zing]
