Vietnam, Cambodia Discuss Expressway Project

PHNOM PENH, Feb 27 Asia Pulse - An expressway linking the southern Can Tho city of Viet Nam to Phnom Penh capital city of Cambodia will be built to facilitate the economic development in the two cities.

To this end, Vietnamese and Cambodian authorities met in Phnom Penh on February 26.

The future 230km highway is estimated to cost US$20 million per km in the form of BOT (Build-Operate-Transform). It will have 110km running on the Vietnamese land from Can Tho city via An Giang province to Phnom Penh .

The road is designed to be 35 m wide and have 6 lanes, with two more lanes likely to be added in the second phase.

The section on the Viet Nam territory has been approved by the government for construction.

The Can Tho-Phnom Penh Expressway, once completed, will link the Mekong delta rice bowl of Viet Nam with Cambodia and go over to Bangkok of Thailand, promoting the socio-economic development for the Mekong delta region in the countries.

Cambodian Secretary of State Tram Iv Tek said the project is big and important to his countrys socio-economic development so it will be proposed soon to the Prime Minister for instruction.

Cambodia begins restoring rail system

PHNOM PENH — Cambodia began Monday restoring a 652-kilometer stretch of its decades-old railway system to enhance domestic and international trade, reduce transport costs and ease road traffic.

The $73 million rehabilitation project is expected to be completed in 23 months, according to Sun Chanthol, Cambodia's minister of Public Works and Transportation. Of the outlay, the Asian Development Bank has provided $42 million in concessional loans, $13 million came from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries as a grant, $2.8 million from Malaysia for iron materials and $15.2 million from the Cambodian government, he said.

Korea, Australia, ADB provide US$165.5mil for VN, Cambodia road improvements

VietNamNet Bridge - Republic of Korea, Australia and Asian Development Bank (ADB) are providing $165.5 million in loans and grants to Vietnam and Cambodia to rehabilitate transport infrastructure to promote cross-border trade and support economic development in the Greater Mekong Sub-region.

ADB will provide a US$75 million loan to Vietnam and a US$7 million loan to Cambodia to help fund the Greater Mekong Sub-region Southern Coastal Corridor Project. South Korea will extend a US$50 million loan to Vietnam through the Economic Development Cooperation Fund, which provides official development assistance to developing countries. Australia will extend grants of US$25.5 million to Vietnam and US$8 million to Cambodia.

Vietnam will contribute US$58.2 million and Cambodia will provide US$3.7 million to complete funding for the project.

“Cooperation in the transport sector has been given a high priority in the Greater Mekong Sub-region because the poor state of transport infrastructure is a major constraint to economic growth, trade and other forms of cooperation,” Paul Vallely, senior transport specialist of ADB’s Southeast Asia Department, said in an announcement the bank released on December 5.

The Greater Mekong Sub-region is composed of countries sharing the Mekong River – Cambodia, People’s Republic of China, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.

The Southern Coastal Corridor runs for 924 kilometers from Bangkok through Cambodia
and ends at Nam Can in the south of Vietnam. The project specifically involves the rehabilitation of 15 kilometers of national road in Cambodia that links to the border of Vietnam and the improvement of 96.1 kilometers of national highway in Vietnam, which includes the construction of two bridges across the Cai Be and Cai Lon rivers. New cross-border facilities will also be developed.

The Cambodian section of the project is expected to be completed in June 2012 and the Vietnam section in December 2014.

The project should result in reduced travel times and lower vehicle operating costs along the corridor, which would encourage economic activities, provide employment opportunities and improve access to social services.

US Cos To Build $1.8 Billion Highway Linking Vietnam Cambodia

HANOI -(Dow Jones)- Vietnamese and Cambodian authorities are working to allow U.S companies to build a $1.8-billion highway linking the two cities of Can Tho and Phnom Penh over the next two years, a local government official said Tuesday.

Vietnam's First Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung has given the approval for authorities to work on the 110-kilometer highway linking Vietnam's Can Tho with the historic city of Phnom Penh, Le Tan Hoc, director of Can Tho city's transport department, said.

Global Ventures and KG America will bid to build under a build-operate- transfer model, the official told Dow Jones Newswires.

Under the model, investors build infrastructure, run it for a given period of time and then hand it over to the government.

Hoc said the highway is expected to have six lanes with a total width of 35 meters.

"Vietnam and Cambodia support this project, which will help boost trade in the region," Hoc said.

-By Nguyen Pham Muoi, Hanoi Bureau, Dow Jones Newswires; 844-8250732; phammuoi.nguyen@dowjones.com