Infrastructure

Private sector industry leaders speaking at an investment conference yesterday in the capital railed on the high cost of electrical power, which they said was sapping their competitiveness, while state officials offered assurances that state-backed power generation schemes would soon bring prices down. ...

The new Freedom Park will open within the next three months and will be renamed Democracy Square, according to City Hall yesterday. ...

Frustrated with the lack of compliance, the government has given the Kingdom’s mobile operators an ultimatum: declare their company revenue shares and settle all outstanding debts owed to the government by the end of the month or face swift and severe punitive action. ...

Cambodia’s telecommunications regulator yesterday stepped up efforts to avert a brewing price war between the country’s six mobile network operators, ordering the companies to submit profitability statements within the next 10 days and summoning all operators to a meeting at the end of the month ...

A waterway passenger transport service via the Tonle Sap and Tonle Bassac rivers will be launched next year, bringing hopes of eased traffic congestion in Phnom Penh and providing a new option for tourists. ...

Cambodia’s electricity regulator is set to roll out seven new plans designed to reduce electricity fees beginning in April and through 2020, with some fees dropping as low as 480 riel per kilowatt hour. ...

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will conduct a feasibility study on building an urban railway in Phnom Penh, with the aim of developing a master plan to reduce traffic congestion in the capital. ...

The government has set March next year as the date for the ground-breaking ceremony for the building of the rail link to Phnom Penh International Airport and Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone (PPSEZ). ...

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will continue to support the development of Cambodia’s logistics sector in its partnership with the government to reduce transport costs and strengthen the country’s logistics infrastructure. ...

A new international airport for Siem Reap has come a step closer after a high-level technical working group was set up to work out the details. The government established the group after a proposal was submitted to the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC). ...

The Labor Ministry is considering constructing a railway line connecting Phnom Penh and select provinces to special economic zones (SEZ) or industrial areas in response to the high number of road accidents involving commuting workers. ...

South Korea will hand out nearly $420 million in development loans to Cambodia this week, much of it for roads and other infrastructure, bringing its total assistance to more than $880 million since 2001.   ...

Representatives for nearly 50 families protested yesterday asking the Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority (PPWSA) to rectify a clerical error that led to high monthly water bills for residents of two communities. ...

A slow growth in tourism, and a slowdown in the logistics and real estate sectors could cumulatively have a knock-on effect that will threaten the overall growth of the country’s services sector, a report from the Ministry of Economy and Finance said yesterday. ...

Cambodia has become the first Asian country to sign on to the Sustainable Development Investment Partnership (SDIP), a global initiative that aims to unlock the funding of infrastructure projects through public-private sector partnerships. ...

Repairs to the Cambodian-Japanese Friendship Bridge, which a City Hall official had said would begin this month, will instead get underway in May, according to representatives from Japan, which is funding the work. ...

The train service between Cambodia and Thailand, which was expected to begin operations early this year, may be delayed due to compensation issues with people living along a one-kilometer stretch of track in Poipet City. ...

Vietnam inked a deal with Cambodia on Friday to provide more than half a million dollars’ worth of training in encryption coding, prompting some to question the wisdom of accepting foreign help to protect state secrets. ...

Cambodian farmers may be able to cut export costs from the middle of the year if an agreement is signed letting them send their produce through the Thai port of Laem Chabang. ...

Nearly 50 families from a village in Banteay Meanchey province’s Poipet town yesterday protested to demand that a private utilities company stop restricting water supply in their area because they didn’t have enough water to drink and irrigate their crops. ...

The government has delayed plans to renovate the Chroy Changvar Bridge, which was slated to undergo changes and improvements this month, after it was revealed that 21 families will have their homes demolished near the eastern end of the bridge to facilitate the construction. ...

A Chinese company will spend roughly $60 million to build a construction supply center on the outskirts of Phnom Penh after finalizing a land leasing agreement with the Phnom Penh Autonomous Port (PPAP) on Friday. Yunnan Sengmao Investment will build the aptly named Construction Material Supplies ...

The government plans to spend about $300 million to build a new multipurpose seaport in Preah Sihanouk province, which promises to receive larger cargo ships and reduce logistics costs.The new port will increase the capacity of the Sihanoukville Autonomous Port (PAS) to handle cargo shipments, ...

The French Agency for Development has granted a 30 million euro, or $31.1 million, loan for the Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority (PPWSA) to expand one of its four water plants and increase its water distribution in the capital. ...