The Ministry of Public Works and Transport held a meeting ahead of breaking ground on a new bridge across the Mekong River and a road connecting National Road 7 to National Road 60B, linking Kratie provincial town and Prek Prasap district, after the Chinese government approved credit for the project.
The November 28 meeting, chaired by ministry secretary of state Lim Sidenin, was attended by the management team of the project implementation unit as well as representatives from Shanghai Construction Group (SCG) and Guangzhou Wanan Construction Supervision Co Ltd (WACC).
Ministry spokesman Va Simsorya said the meeting was held to prepare plans for the upcoming construction, but the start date was pending a decision from minister Sun Chanthol.
“However, it will not be long. After the project is completed, it will expand the transportation infrastructure, making it easier to move goods and agricultural products to their target markets. This in turn will contribute to economic growth,” he said.
It was also an opportunity to introduce the ministry’s working group to their counterparts from SCG and WACC and to present the results of a study on the project.
During Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s official visit to Cambodia earlier this month, the two countries signed a USD-denominated concessional loan agreement for the project, and another agreement for the expansion of National Road 7 between Kampong Cham provincial town and Skun.
The bridge and connecting road project in Kratie province will have a total length of 33.45km, including the 1,761m long and 13.5m wide bridge. The east base of the bridge will be at Bos Leav Loeu village in Chitr Borei district’s Bos Leav commune and will cross the Mekong to Prek Proloung village in Prek Prasap district’s Sorb commune.
The project is expected to start soon, with a total budget of $111.98 million. Construction is expected to take approximately 42 months and will be carried out by the SCG, with quality control provided by WACC.
