Muhibbah to Build $200 Million Expressway

• 31 December 2015
• Local News
• 1677 Views

Muhibbah has won the bid to build a $200-million expressway connecting Phnom Penh’s downtown to National Road 4 and the capital’s airport.

Stretching over 14km, the 24 metre wide, 4 lane (2 lanes for each direction plus space for broken-down vehicles to park) highway will connect Toul Kork Roundabout to National Road No. 4 with a link to Phnom Penh International Airport, said Lok Oknha Hann Khieng, Director of Muhibbah Engineering (Cambodia) Co.,Ltd, the country’s leading infrastructure builder established 2 decades ago.

The expressway will allow commuters to travel at speeds of 80-120km/hour and no pedestrians or animals will be allowed on it.

The project will also integrate six long bridges that will allow commuters to get on/off the expressway at major road intersections such as Hanoi Street, Century Plaza market, the airport, and the area of Tomnup Kop Srov. The company will also build another seven tunnels under the expressway in zones with high volume to ease passage of pedestrians and scooter traffic.

The road will be built mainly on the ground parallel with the current railway line running across the city heading to National Road 4. Now the company is working to settle compensation for affected families along the way.

While the company will collect toll fees from commuters, it hasn’t determined the rates yet. Oknha Hann Khieng told Construction and Property Magazine.

At the time of printing arrangement, Construction and Property learns that there are few more highways have also been proposed. The Henan Provincial Communications Planning, Survey, and Design Institute from China will break ground on a highway project next year linking Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville with completion scheduled for 2020 and which aims to reduce traveling time, ease traffic jams and reduce accidents on National Road No. 4. It is also working on a proposed plan to build another highway linking downtown Phnom Penh to the airport which is currently awaiting Cambodian government approval.

The AZ Group, that has managed the 34-yearconcession to operate and maintain the 230kmNational Road No. 4 since 2000, is also expanding this main artery from 2 lanes to 4 lanes with an unspecified completion date.

Another 220km highway linking Phnom Penh and Ho Chi Minh City with investment estimated at US$2.2 billion and proposed by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), has also been also announced with completion hoped for by 2030.

The view sample of expressway designed for Honululu City, Hawai