At a plenary meeting of the Council of Ministers on January 13, Prime Minister Hun Sen urged the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Public Works and Transport to work together to accelerate the study of the construction of high-speed rail projects and expressways and complete them as soon as possible in order to provide the Kingdom with more travel and transportation options.

“The finance and public works ministries must accelerate the study of high-speed rail projects by developing existing railways to serve the transport sector, boost Cambodia’s socio-economic growth, increase incomes and improve people's livelihoods,” he said.

Cambodia Logistics Association (CLA) president Sin Chanthy said that rail transport has high potential for development of the transport sector, not only for transporting passengers but also goods.

“And the project to build the Phnom Penh-Poipet expressway is already in the ministry's master plan, so accelerating the study of this project is very good news for the private sector,” he added.

He continued that road transport is expensive and sometimes slow, so another expressway will be able to significantly reduce costs and boost national economic development.

Logistics and Supply Chain Business Association in Cambodia (Loscba) president Chea Chandara said that the projects would improve the economics of transportation in the Kingdom, especially by providing a connection for the transport infrastructure between rail and sea, which should boost economic activity and investment.

“We can say that it is convenient for businesses that want to invest in Cambodia, because the railways will help save transportation time,” he said.