Cambodia inaugurates China-financed new container terminal

Cambodia on Tuesday inaugurated a new container terminal of the Phnom Penh Autonomous Port, turning the port as a large hub for logistics supply and goods collection and distribution.

The inauguration ceremony was presided over by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Pan Guangxue and was attended by 15,000 participants, including senior government officials, diplomats, residents and students.

The construction of the 10-hectare terminal was begun in March, 2011 by Shanghai Construction (Group) General Company with a soft loan of 28.2 million U.S. dollars financed by the Government of China, Hun Sen said at the event.

He said the terminal has a total capacity of 120,000 TEUs (20- foot equivalent unit) per year and it consists of a wharf platform enabling two 5,000 tones of container berths.

"It is a modern container port. This is a new achievement in Cambodia's transportation development," the premier said, adding that the new terminal is to respond to the growing economic size.

He added that the new dock will become a main hub for goods entering and leaving Cambodia and it will also help facilitate the exports of one million tons of milled rice by 2015.

"Through Ambassador Pan Guangxue, I'd like to express my gratitude to the Government of China for providing both grants and concessional loans to Cambodia for social and economic development, " Hun Sen said.

The terminal does not only connect Phnom Penh Autonomous Port to Vietnam's Cai Map port, but also help ship goods directly to Singapore, Malaysia, and China's Hong Kong and Shanghai, as well as other neighboring countries and regions without ship transfer.

Meanwhile Ambassador Pan said that China saw the new container terminal as a key infrastructure to promote Cambodian import and export activities.

"China will continue supporting Cambodia in developing waterway transportation, roads, bridges, irrigation system, and electricity so as to promote the development of Cambodian economy," he said.

The terminal is located along the Mekong River in Kean Svay district, about 30 kilometers east of capital Phnom Penh.