Gov't Dissuades Bavet Rail Link

KHMER TIMES
SOK CHAN



A proposal by Jiangzi International (Cambodia) to build a rail line from Svay Rieng province’s Bavet city to Phnom Penh was discussed by Transport Minister Sun Chanthol on Monday, who told them that while the government would support their efforts, there was little economic benefit to be gained from the plan.

The meeting between Jiangxi president Huang Mingyan and Mr. Chanthol on Monday was to discuss a number of possible rail-based transport developments, undersecretary of state for the ministry Ly Borin told Khmer Times.

“The government will not be getting any loans from other countries or development partners to build any railway from Phnom Penh to Bavet since there is no benefit to the area’s economic activities as Vietnam has not yet built any railways to connect to Cambodia,” Mr. Borin said.

“On the top of this, the railway from Phnom Penh to Bavet is not part of our main [rail] focus, but if the company wants to study and implement one on a build, operate and transfer agreement, the government will support.”

Mr. Borin said that after the discussion, Jiangxi International (Cambodia) were still interested in undertaking a feasibility study.

Mey Kalyan, senior adviser to the Supreme National Economic Council, said that it was encouraging that the private sector was looking to develop the country’s transport infrastructure.

“If the private sector could build this railway from Phnom Penh to Bavet and serve the nation’s interest then why not?”

“The economic hub of Cambodia is Thailand to Phnom Penh, and Vietnam and Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville. So the new corridor to Vietnam is also important for investors looking for Vietnamese ports to export and import materials,” he said.

According to Mr. Borin, the government had already completed a feasibility study on a railway linking Phnom Penh to Vietnam, and signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Vietnamese. However, the 257-kilometer line has not yet been started, as the government lacked suitable funds, and Vietnam had yet to build its portion of the line, explained Mr. Borin.

“We signed a MoU with Vietnam to connect Phnom Penh to Di Ah-Loch Ninh [Vietnam] after the completion of the feasibility study. Currently, we are waiting for the Vietnamese side to start constructing their part of railway. If we construct this railway alone, it will not provide any benefit at all since there is no connection with Vietnam.”