Transport minister Sun Chanthol examines a personal number plate, off of which the ministry earned $2 million. Photo supplied
The Ministry of Public Works and Transport has generated some $2 million from the sale of personalised number plates since it launched the service last month.
From January 7 to February 4, the ministry had sold 468 such plates to vehicle owners throughout the country, a senior ministry official said.
At its official launch last month, minister Chanthol said the prices start at between $500 and $250,000 per plate, with some coveted plates open to bidding.
He said the plates will be valid for life, and customers can put a name or anything they want on them, but nothing ‘inappropriate’.
Each personalised plate includes the word “Cambodia” in Khmer script on top and in English at the bottom. The middle of the plates will compose of not more than eight characters or digits in English.
A QR code is included on the right side of the plate, which would allow officials to ascertain the history of the vehicle and the name and address of its owner.
People can purchase or bid on a plate on an online automated car registration system on vehicle.mpwt.gov.kh.
Chhoun Voun, the director-general of the ministry’s Land Transport General Department, told The Post on Wednesday that most of the customers were from Phnom Penh. He said there have also been customers hailing from provinces to purchase the plate at the department.
“This has partly increased revenues for the national budget. We launch this service to meet people’s demand.
“Some want to have their favourite names, letters, or numbers on the plate, so we fulfil their wish. They can keep the special number forever,” he said.
Voun said customers can purchase a personalised licence plate at a base price of $500, while that with fewer numbers and/or characters on it is more expensive.
The ministry put personalised number plates for sale and bidding on January 6.
The plates could be sold with the vehicles they were registered to or transferred to another vehicle within three months of purchase. Failure to register the plate with the new vehicle will result in the plate being put up for resale or rebidding.
The ministry said its automated vehicle registration system not only enables the public to have their preferred licence plates but also allows owners to submit technical reviews and vehicle registration at their convenience via the ministry’s web portal.
