MPWT: Major Kampot-Veal Renh Road Repairs Expected to Delay to 2024, Lacking Funding

• 27 September 2022
• Local News
• 1696 Views

The budget for the deep repair of the ‘forever-damaged’ Kampot-Veal Renh road has not yet been approved by China, confirmed Minister of Public Works and Transport HE Sun Chanthol, apologizing that the approval timeline could be in late 2023 or 2024.

HE Sun Chanthol said during the expressway inspection on 22 September that the government acknowledged the issue, but there is no budget to take action yet.

“The ministry does not ignore the problem or doesn’t want to fix it. We have already studied but we do not have the budget yet. It is a shame, and the ministry would like to apologize to the public for that matter,” said HE Sun Chanthol.

“This road needs deep repair as a 5km section of 20km has rotted soil foundations. We need to build an underground foundation just like a bridge underneath the road. Temporarily fixing it would not do anything, ” he added.

However, in the meantime, the ministry is asking the Chinese company CRBC to help periodically flatten the road surface for temporary use.

“Flattening the surface is the best we can do, even though it will last only one week or so. We do not want to spend US$1 or US$2 million to repair the road as it is a waste of money and the road won’t last,” he added.

“Therefore, I apologize and ask the public to help understand this issue,” he continued.

According to the study, the repair of the 20-kilometer road could cost US$60 to 70 million. The Ministry of Economy and Finance has already requested China for funding.

• Road and Infrastructure