Cars travelling on the Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville expressway. Hong Menea
The Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway will mark its first anniversary on November 9, with Prime Minister Hun Manet offering praise for the “successful” infrastructure project.
Ahead of the milestone, Manet published a November 6 celebratory letter to Zhou Yong, director of Cambodia PPSHV Expressway, the Chinese company responsible for the operation of the Kingdom’s first high-speed toll road.
“Now that the expressway has been open for a year, we have all seen the praise it has drawn from the millions of ordinary Cambodians who have happily used the road to travel to Preah Sihanouk province, or other places,” it read.
“The expressway has played an important role in improving the efficiency of people’s travel. It has eased traffic congestion and reduced their travel time to just two hours. Therefore, people can now travel from Phnom Penh to Preah Sihanouk and return later on the same day, safely and easily,” he added.
He explained that the expressway not only provided convenience and reduced travel time, but it had become a new economic artery for the transportation and logistics industries. The expressway had also contributed to the development of Preah Sihanouk, in line with the government’s vision of turning the province into a model multi-purpose special economic zone (SEZ).
In addition, the road serves as a strategic connection between the Kingdom’s first economic pole of Phnom Penh and its second, Preah Sihanouk.
The government has set clear development goals, designating parts of the province as earmarked for industrial areas, tourist potential, natural beaches, agro-industry and trade, as well as freight by land and sea.
Manet noted that the expressway was one of the main projects to come from the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), introduced by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“We see the first year of the expressway’s operation as evidence of the company’s joint commitment and effort to successfully build a high-quality infrastructure facility and manage its operations effectively. The celebrations coincide with the 65th anniversary of the establishment of Cambodia-China diplomatic relations, as well as the Year of Cambodia-China Friendship,” he added.
He expressed his confidence that the company would keep up its effort to increase the efficiency of its operations, while seizing the opportunity to employ digital technology, in line with the global context. The use of modern technology is expected to make
