New container terminal may not deliver for Cambodia
Shallow draft, lack of rail connectivity, uneasy relations with Vietnam, and the general slowdown may leave LM 17, Cambodia’s brand new $28-million container terminal near Phnom Penh, up the strait. Even if the terminal achieves the targeted throughput of 110,000 TEUs (it has moved 70,000 so far) by December, the rate of growth will be lower than what the old terminal (TS 3), located about 30 km away, achieved in 2012 (95,333 TEUs) over 2011 (81,631 TEUs) and 2010 (62,256 TEUs). The growth in throughput at Phnom Penh Autonomous Port’s LM 17 — one 300-metre long berth with the capacity to handle 150,000 TEUs — will be slow despite the transfer of the entire volume of traffic comprising containerised cargo and export of rice, sugarcane and tapioca, totalling 184,000 tonnes, from the old terminal to the new. The old terminal remains non-operational as the Customs authorities refuse to work at two ports simultaneously. … Like the Kolkata port on the Hooghly, the Phnom Penh port, too, is a river port on the Mekong river. But the available draft at Phnom Penh port is just 4.5 metres — much lower than that in the Hooghly. As a result, only shallow draft barges of 130 TEU capacity can call at Phnom Penh port’s new terminal. This automatically restricts the port’s handling capacity. Moreover, barges have to travel nearly 300 km to reach the nearest port — either Saigon or Cai Mep — both located in Vietnam. The survival of the Cambodian port, therefore, depends largely on the co-operation of the Vietnamese authorities. Unfortunately, the two countries are not in best of terms due to historical reasons. … There is no rail connectivity to LM17 and cargo is moved by road which is costly. “We’ve no plans for rail connectivity at least in the near future as we intend to construct new ring roads to facilitate smoother cargo movement by road to the port.” As with ports around the globe, political forces have a hand in the operation of LM 17. For instance, every container is subject to compulsory screening at an additional cost of about $80. This is unheard of in major container ports where screening is done at random and less than one per cent of the boxes get examined. … PPAP also plans to develop a Special Economic Zone in the port area and the Japan International Co-operation Agency is interested in helping with the project on the condition that it is a private sector initiative. …
Hindu Business Line News Staff
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/logistics/new-container-terminal-may-not-deliver-for-cambodia/article5061737.ece
