Toll may lose rail rights
A company with ties to one of China’s top state-owned firms will look to push Toll Royal Railways and its local partner Royal Group of Companies out of a 30-year railroad concession with pledge to invest nearly US$850 million to revamp existing lines and build an additional one. The company, Rail Services (Cambodia) Ltd, pitched its plan for what it calls “Kampuchea Rail” to government officials on August 3, Chairman and Chief Executive Daryl Dealehr said a company statement obtained by the Post. With backing from Sino-Pacific Construction Consultancy Co, Ltd, Rail Services, along with Hikmat Asia Sdn Bdh of Malaysia, claimed that they were prepared to invest nearly $850 million in Cambodia’s existing rail lines that run between Sihanoukville, Phnom Penh and the Thai border, and build a link from the capital to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. … Rail Services’ pitch should sound tempting to Cambodian officials, as it offers up to $850 million in foreign direct investment after years of concessional loans from regional donors. Rail Services said it would “at no cost to the RGC [. . .] fully finance [the project]”. …
