Phnom Penh municipal officials and Chinese Embassy representatives yesterday commemorated the handover of 98 Chinese buses and two cranes to the city yesterday at a ceremony on Koh Pich. "The buses will not only help improve public transport and reduce the traffic congestion and pollution in Phnom Penh, they will also strengthen the solidarity and good cooperation of the two nations," said Phnom Penh Governor Khuong Sreng at the ceremony.

Sreng said the buses would meet increasing demand for public transportation in Phnom Penh, which currently operates 57 buses on three lines, serving between 1,600 and 1,700 people per day. Tan Qingsheng, the chargé d’affaires at the Chinese Embassy, said the donation includes 60 35-seat buses, 38 27-seat buses and two cranes.

Because of the new fleet, and another expected donation of 180 buses from the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the city expects to have 10 operational bus lines by early 2018, Phnom Penh City Hall spokesman Met Measpheakdey told The Post yesterday. "Those 100 buses will help to reduce the [number of] vehicles on the road and contribute to the decline of traffic congestion and accidents in Phnom Penh if people participate in this service," he said.