Recently, Prime Minister Hun Sen of the Kingdom of Cambodia paid a state visit to China. It coincides with the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Cambodia and China. During the three-day visit, Hun Sen will discuss a series of infrastructure construction projects with China, and plans to win China's support for its first high-speed rail project. Due to outdated infrastructure and low operating efficiency, the railway has become a blockage in Cambodia's economic development, restricting local economic and trade development and interconnection with surrounding areas. For this reason, Cambodia has been accelerating the upgrading and reconstruction of railways in recent years, hoping to realize the dream of high-speed rail as soon as possible.
The driving effect of high-speed rail on a country's economic development is obvious. It can greatly improve the flow of people and logistics efficiency, and enhance the convenience of people's production and life. Lan Qingxin, a professor at the National Academy of Opening-up at the University of International Business and Economics, said that seeing China's high-level technical standards, construction quality and construction capabilities in the construction of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway in Indonesia and the China-Laos railway, Cambodia hopes to actively Push China to help it realize its high-speed rail dream.
Relying on Chinese friends to develop Cambodia
The high-speed rail project became one of the key topics discussed with Chinese leaders during Hun Sen's visit to China. While we already have a rail system, the current railroads cannot be used efficiently and economically. Hun Sen said that during my visit to China, we need to seek assistance from China for new projects to promote Cambodia's development. Among them, the high-speed railway project will become an important topic. At a press conference held on January 14, Hun Sen said that he will visit China with high-speed rail and a series of infrastructure projects. We must rely on Chinese friends to develop Cambodia, including high-speed rail.
As early as the ASEAN summit in November 2022, Cambodia had discussed the high-speed rail issue with China. At that time, China had already approved investment in several major infrastructure projects in Cambodia, including upgrading Cambodia's Northern Railway linking Phnom Penh and Poipet.
The Cambodian Ministry of Public Works and Transport stated that the project will be Cambodia's first standard high-speed railway and will become a major domestic and international passenger and freight line. Lin Heng, vice president of the Cambodian Chamber of Commerce, expressed the hope that the new railway can be connected with railways in neighboring countries, thereby enhancing regional connectivity. The new railway will mainly focus on passenger and freight services between Cambodia and Thailand and other ASEAN countries. In the first step, it is hoped to establish a railway connection in the country. If a railway connection can be established with Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, it will better promote the economy by transporting passengers, tourists and agricultural products.
The railway system is in disrepair
Cambodia has always had the dream of building a high-speed railway. In April 2022, Hun Sen proposed to upgrade the train line to increase economic trade, population flow and contact with neighboring countries. However, due to immature technology and lack of funds, Hun Sen's plan has not been realized. According to the Cambodian Ministry of Public Works and Transport, the construction of the Cambodian railway system began in the late 1920s, including two lines, the North and the South. The Northern Line, built during the French colonial rule from 1929 to 1942, is located on the Cambodia-Thailand border, with a total length of 286 kilometers. The southern line connecting Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville was built from 1960 to 1969, with a total length of 264 kilometers.
During the 1976-1979 regime of Democratic Kampuchea, both railways were severely damaged, some sections were completely destroyed, and then rebuilt and repaired through the cooperation of the Cambodian Ministry of Public Works and Transport and the Royal Railway Company, in 2010 and 2018 respectively Railway freight and passenger services resumed in 2009. However, the maximum speed of the two traditional railways is only 30 kilometers per hour, which can no longer meet the transportation needs. Therefore, there is an urgent need for Cambodia to upgrade and build high-speed railways.
On January 13, Hun Sen raised the railway plan at the plenary meeting of the cabinet, instructing the Cambodian Ministry of Public Works and Transport to work closely with the Ministry of Finance and Economics to enable the country to realize the dream of high-speed railways as soon as possible, and work together to upgrade the two existing railways in Cambodia. It is planned to build a high-speed railway connecting Poipet City on the Cambodia-Thailand border, Siem Reap Province, Kampong Thom Province, Kampong Chhnang Province, Phnom Penh City, Mupai and Ho Chi Minh City in order to provide more travel options for the public.
Chinese enterprises play a key role
In order to speed up the research and construction of the high-speed rail project, the Cambodian Ministry of Public Works and Transport has authorized China Road and Bridge Engineering Co., Ltd. to conduct a feasibility study on the Northern Line Railway connecting Phnom Penh and Poipet in Cambodia. On January 23, it communicated with China Luqiao discussed the preliminary research results.
According to preliminary research results, the 382-kilometer high-speed rail track will be renovated on the existing basis, requiring an investment cost of more than US$4 billion, and the construction will take 4 years. The gauge of the high-speed rail is 1.435 meters wide and the Chinese standard gauge, and the speed can be increased to 160 kilometers per hour after completion.
Due to its special geographical location, Cambodia is an important part of the entire Indochina Peninsula railway network and even the Southeast Asian section of the Trans-Asian Railway. Lan Qingxin introduced that the construction of the Cambodian high-speed railway is part of the construction of the Belt and Road China-Indochina Peninsula Economic Corridor. After completion, it will also effectively connect the east and middle lines of the Pan-Asian Railway, and increase the infrastructure between China and Indochina Peninsula countries. interconnection. At present, the China-Laos Railway has been opened, and the China-Thailand Railway is also stepping up construction. The construction of a high-speed railway in Cambodia will allow our Trans-Asian Railway to connect Cambodia. Lan Qingxin added.
In addition to the high-speed rail project, China has achieved fruitful results in the construction of high-quality infrastructure connectivity projects in Cambodia. China Road and Bridge stated that the Jingang Expressway, the first expressway in Cambodia invested, constructed and operated by it, will be opened to traffic in October 2022. In the same year, CRBC Cambodia Office also promoted the implementation of the Phnom Penh-Bavet Expressway investment project.
This expressway will become the second expressway in Cambodia, and a franchise agreement for this expressway may be signed during Hun Sen's visit to China. Chandra, chairman of the Cambodian Logistics and Supply Chain Business Association, said that these projects will improve Cambodia's transportation economy by providing connections between railway and sea transportation infrastructure, promoting domestic economic activities and investment, and greatly reducing the transportation time of enterprises. Editor/He Yuting
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