Cargo throughout at Sihanoukville port, the country’s only deep-sea port, is on track to grow by 10 percent this year in line with projections, a port official said yesterday.

So Seang, director of the planning, procurement and statistics department at Sihanoukville Autonomous Port (PAS), said gross throughput at the port increased by 7.5 percent during the first nine months of the year compared with a year earlier, surpassing 3.2 million tonnes.

There was a noticeable increase in container traffic during the period he noted. Records show a total of 171,486 twenty foot equivalent units (TEU) imported during the first nine months of the year, a 13.7 percent increase over the same period in 2016. Exports amounted to 169,458 TEU, an increase of nearly 11 percent.

“The trend of cargo traffic reflects the strong growth of Cambodia’s economy,” Seang said. “The [port’s development] plan projects 10 percent annual growth.”

Seang said container throughput at PAS is expected to approach 500,000 TEU this year.

The port has the capacity to handle 700,000 TEU a year.

“The port will have to be expand in order to serve the demands of the market,” he said, adding that PAS will commence an expansion next year to increase the port’s draft to 14.5 metres.

Total gross throughput at PAS was 4 million tonnes last year, with 198,509 TEU imported and 201,678 TEU exported. PAS debuted on Cambodia’s stock exchange in June after an initial public offering that raised $27 million. The company’s stock was trading at 5,040 riel yesterday.