Public works and transport minister Sun Chanthol joins the third anniversary event for the launch of personalised number plates on March 7. MPWT
The Ministry of Public Works and Transport held an event marking the third anniversary of personalised number plates for vehicles being introduced to the Kingdom. In the past three years, the ministry has generated around $28 million from the sales of personalised plates and another $25 million from special number plates.
The event, held from March 7-8 at Wat Botum Park in Phnom Penh, featured booths and auctions where people could bid on sought-after personalised plates, as well as games related to knowledge of the road traffic law.
Minister Sun Chanthol said the event aims to promote awareness of and encourage people to buy personalised plates, and to disseminate the road traffic law. “All road users have to respect the law to reduce casualties. Road accidents kill five people and wound 10 to 15 others per day on average, at an enormous cost to the nation,” he said.
Chanthol said the proceeds from the auctions will go to the Kantha Bopha Children’s Hospital and the National Pediatric Hospital.
A special plate has Phnom Penh or the name of the province issued in Khmer at the top and in Latin below. The number begins with one class digit, dependent on the type of vehicle, followed by one or two Latin letters and then four digits that can be specified.
A personalised plate has the word “Cambodia” in Khmer at the top and in Latin below, with one to eight letters and numbers on the next line. It can contain virtually any arrangements of letters and numbers, including people’s names if they so desire.
Chanthol noted that in the three-year period, the ministry has sold 16,132 personalised plates for $28 million and 101,920 special plates for $25 million. The sales of personalised plates, he said, increased by five per cent this year as Cambodia’s economy has improved.
“With the national economy expected to grow over five per cent, I hope that the sales of personalised plates will continue to increase. So, we hope that our people will buy more personalised plates. The proceeds will go to the national budget and the Cambodian Red Cross,” he said.
He continued that his ministry is now in talks with the Ministry of Economy and Finance on plans to replace old number plates that lack a QR code with the newer designs that use a QR code in order to get rid of all fake number plates.
“We are working on procedures to help coordinate this work. If possible, vehicle owners will come to replace their old number places with new ones without having to pay money. This replacement aims to get rid of fake number plates and to update records with accurate home addresses, because currently some drivers get fined but their addresses cannot be found,” he said.
Transport ministry secretary of state Koy Sodany said that automated systems are designed to provide better public services throughout the country quickly and transparently.
The sales and registration of personalised plates are managed by an inter-ministerial commission. The commission, which Sodany currently chairs, was set up in 2016 and adjusted in 2019 to meet people’s needs and bring it in line with ASEAN integration.
