Public works minister Sun Chanthol during a video conference with CGWIC management. Transport Ministry
The China Great Wall Industry Corporation (CGWIC) is preparing to open an office in Cambodia aimed at promoting the use of navigation satellite system in vehicles as a safety measure across the ASEAN transport sector.
In a video conference with CGWIC management on May 11, Minister for Public Works and Transport Sun Chanthol said the company had succeeded in officially launching the BeiDou navigation satellite system which provides global coverage.
He said that the transport ministry is ready to cooperate in promoting the use of the BeiDou navigation system in Cambodia for the benefit of the commercial transportation sector and that he also plans to raise this topic at the ASEAN Transport Ministers' Meeting and other meetings which Cambodia will host in November 2021 in Siem Reap.
Chanthol requested that CGWIC speed up installation of the 550 BeiDou system so that the ministry can gain experience with it and have a firmer basis for promoting its use in Cambodia.
"All of the neighbouring countries in ASEAN will be interested in using this GPS system," he said.
Public works and transport spokesman Kong Vimean told The Post that two technical teams were studying the details of the project, while a representative from CGWIC said their office in Cambodia would open later this year.
"The [BeiDou] project is still under discussion with the technical team and it needs some more time. According to the plan, we will open an office in Cambodia before the end of the year. But now it is still in the discussion phase," he said, adding that the system focused on cross-border transport within ASEAN, meaning commercial transport and not general transport.
According to the ministry, the BeiDou system can help to reduce accidents, reduce traffic jams, prevent speeding and help track vehicles that are not entering the weighing stations as required.
Vimean said that the BeiDou system will give new life to the economic and social development of Cambodia, in line with the government’s rectangular strategy and China's Belt and Road Initiative international development strategy.
CGWIC signed a memorandum of understanding on Beidou GPS, Remote Sensing and Road Map System in Cambodia on November 25 last year, he said.
