A joint feasibility study between a Singapore’s YCH and London-based PricewaterhouseCooper (PwC) for development of the Phnom Penh Logistics Centre (PPLC) is now about 50 per cent complete and on track to be finished by mid-April, with construction on the highly-anticipated project expected to begin in November, according to the Ministry of Public Works and Transport.

The PPLC is planned on 98ha in Samrong Krom commune of the capital’s Dangkor district, west of the Phnom Penh International Airport.

At a meeting with minister Sun Chanthol on February 23, Lavan Thiru, CEO of Singapore-based Infrastructure Asia (IA), said YCH and PwC had conducted a field visit to three sections of the project site last week, and gathered data for further analysis, the ministry noted in a statement.

Thiru confirmed that the study was scheduled to be completed in mid-April, after which it would be submitted to the public works and finance ministries to review.

According to the statement, the minister expressed satisfaction with the study’s progress and said he looks forward to the results in April, and a potential groundbreaking in November, as planned.

He said the framework agreement for the PPLC – signed by the public works ministry, YCH and IA on March 4 last year – was “in the spirit” of efforts by his ministry and other relevant state institutions.

The PPLC will play a “crucial and necessary role” in moving freight more quickly and seamlessly across the country, and support the integration of Cambodian logistics systems into regional and global supply chains, he added.

“The spread of Covid-19 has slowed the project down a bit, but it has not been able to completely stop it from achieving the government’s goals,” the statement quoted Chanthol as saying.

“The PPLC will be a strategic transport hub located in the centre of Cambodia that can provide support for distribution channels and connectivity between all modes of transportation, including roads, railways, waterways and airways,” he said.

Cambodia Logistics Association (CLA) president Sin Chanthy told The Post on February 24 that his association supports the feasibility study and other research related to the PPLC.

Chanthy said the PPLC will for the first time bring together a dry port and all the necessary facilities for imports and exports in once central location in the capital, and offer customs and other pertinent services. This, he said, would make logistics in Cambodia much simpler and cost-efficient.

“Once the logistics centre is up and running, things will get all the more convenient. There’ll be connectivity between the railway, the highway, and the like – out in the outskirts of town – there won’t be much congestion, just a concentration of solutions that could provide strong tailwinds for logistics. Hence I support this project,” he added.

Public works ministry spokesman Vasim Sorya told The Post on February 24 that the government allowed the two Singaporean firms to develop the PPLC because it wants the logistics hub to be up to recognised international standards and give Cambodia a competitive edge against neighbouring countries and others further afield.

“YCH and PricewaterhouseCooper are responsible for the study and project expenditures. The Ministry of Public Works and Transport merely indicates this or that area for further study,” he said.

He claimed that the two firms were initially motivated by the Masterplan on Intermodal Transport Connectivity and Logistics System to approach the government and discuss development of the PPLC.

The masterplan not only provides for the PPLC, which is tailored to slash logistics costs, but also the construction of bridges, waterways, railways and other infrastructure that could increase the competitive advantages of the logistics hub.