Cambodia to start construction of expressway to Vietnam
Cambodia is scheduled to start the construction of the Phnom Penh-Bavet Expressway close to Vietnam’s Moc Bai international border gate in June 2023, said Sun Chanthol, Minister of Public Works and Transport of Cambodia.
Cambodia is to start construction of the Phnom Penh-Bavet Expressway close to Vietnam’s Moc Bai international border gate in June 2023. (Photo: https:khmertimeskh.com)
Phnom Penh (VNA) 𝓀- Cambodia is scheduled tostart the construction of the Phnom Penh-Bavet Expressway close to Vietnam’s MocBai international border gate in June 2023, said Sun Chanthol, Minister ofPublic Works and Transport of Cambodia.
Speaking at an inauguration ceremony of a traffic projectin Phnom Penh on April 21, the minister revealed that Cambodian Prime MinisterHun Sen is expected to attend the groundbreaking ceremony. The 1.6 billion USD expressway, the second of its kindin Cambodia, will have a total length of 138km and bridge across the MekongRiver. Chanthol revealed that Vietnam will also kick-start the construction of the Ho Chi Minh City-Moc Bai expressway to connect with thePhnom Penh-Bavet expressway. He expected that the two projects will be completedby the end of 2026 or early 2027 at the latest. In 2022, Cambodia put into use its first expresswayconnecting the capital Phnom Penh and the port city of Preah Sihanouk. The187km-long and four-lane route had an investment cost of 2 billion USD investedby a Chinese company in the form of build - operate - transfer (BOT) with anoperating time of 50 years./.
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