Prime Minister Hun Sen said a new flyover being constructed in Phnom Penh’s Russey Keo district will help avert traffic jams when the cable-stayed bridge connecting Russey Keo to Chroy Changvar district across the Tonle Sap is inaugurated. The construction of the bridge is now 60 per cent complete.

“The [overpass] construction is important, because the additional traffic flow from the new bridge from Russey Keo to Chroy Changvar will mean the current road won’t be able to handle the heavier volume.

“The logical choice is to build a flyover. This will allow the road to carry its regular through-traffic, while those vehicles turning onto the bridge will access it via the flyover,” he said at the groundbreaking ceremony for the flyover on January 31.

Currently, people are using a temporary steel bridge. The new concrete cable-stayed bridge may be completed as early March, and will certainly feature in the opening of the SEA Games in May, he said.

He added that in the future there will be Prek Pnov and Prek Kdam flyovers. Cambodia needed to connect both internally, and they would play a part in regional transport links.

Connections between the east and west banks of the Tonle Sap used to be made entirely by private boats and ferries, he noted, expressing his pride in the infrastructure policies he had introduced in 1987.

“They could be sufficient for another 20 or 30 years. That’s water, roads and electricity for the current population though ultimately we’ll need to focus on meeting water and electricity needs according to the growing population,” Hun Sen said.

Phnom Penh governor Khuong Sreng said the Overseas Cambodia Investment Corporation (OCIC) was carrying out the 15-month construction project, with nearly $10 million in funding from the Koh Norea development project in the capital’s Chhbar Ampov district.

“This bridge will be the sixth flyover under the cooperation between the Phnom Penh Municipal Administration and the private sector in line with the infrastructure recommendations laid down by the premier. We have used a lot of land to complete this project, yes, but ultimately it is for the benefit of the entire city,” Sreng said.

He added that the strategy of building the flyover paralleled construction of the new bridge, and together the projects would increase the potential for development in Chroy Changvar.

“It will contribute significantly to the convenience of people travelling to and from Phnom Penh and avoid long-term traffic congestion. It is also an important strategic artery that will boost economic growth and promote tourism in the capital as well as throughout the Kingdom,” he said.

A billboard of a new overpass on National Road 5 in the capital’s Russey Keo district on Monday. SPM