A photograph of a boat accompanying an announcement of the launch of a municipal ferry service posted to the Ministry of Public Works and Transport's Facebook page on Thursday.
A ferry service is set to open on Friday that will take passengers along the Tonle Sap and Tonle Bassac rivers, making three stops in Phnom Penh and one in Kandal province’s Takhmao City, according to a spokesman at the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MPWT).
Transport Minister Sun Chanthol is scheduled to preside over the opening ceremony held at one of the four stops, near the capital’s night market in Daun Penh district. The other three stops are in Russey Keo to the north, and Chaktomuk and Takhmao City to the south.
“We will start with four initial terminals and continue to build more terminals,” ministry spokesman Va Sim Sorya said yesterday, noting stops would eventually reach as far north as Prek Pnov district.
The ferry service will temporarily be free for passengers, but will eventually transition to a paid system, Sorya said, adding he could not provide details on the schedule, price, or passenger capacity of the ferry service.
The Phnom Penh Autonomous Port is set to operate the service using three vessels during the initial launch period. The company’s CEO Hei Bavy could not be reached yesterday.
The MPWT said in a Facebook post in January that it planned to eventually open 15 terminals along the river.
The ferry service is the latest launch of a new public transportation option in the country. A new rail line in Banteay Meanchey province connecting Poipet to Serei Saophoan opened on Wednesday, and a rail service from Phnom Penh International Airport to the train station on Monivong Boulevard is scheduled to open before Khmer New Year.
Both of those services will also be free during their initial launch period.
