Cambodia?s Railway Network Blueprint

• Proeksa Meas
• 31 December 2015
• Construction Focus
• 3246 Views

The poor condition of the transportation network in Cambodia stands out as one of the obstacles to economic growth. But it is expected that a railway network system that will run across the country will enhance Cambodia’s transportation competitiveness after ASEAN Integration.

Mr. Ly Borin, Head of the Railroads Department at the Ministry of Public Works and Transport gave an exclusive interview with Construction & Property Magazine where he provided updates on the nation’s railway development master plan and future plans.

1. Late last year, Toll Group sold its 55 percent stake of the railway concession agreement to operate the nation’s railway network for 30 years to its Cambodian joint partner Royal Group to operate this business alone. How has it affected the railway operation as far as you have observed?

The selling of Toll Group’s 55 percent stake of the railway operation concession to its partner, Royal Group, hasn’t strongly affected the nation’s railway service operation. So far, the Ministry of Public Works and Transport is reviewing this railway concessional agreement to see what should be the next solution.

2. The 264km southern railway line has already been completed; when we can expect the 386km northern part that links Phnom Penh to Thailand to be finished? Does the government have enough funding for the northern line now? When it is completed, what benefits to the economy or other sectors can you foresee?

So far, the southern railway network stretching 264km from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville railway station has been completely built. The 386km northern line linking Phnom Penh to Poipet is divided into separate segments; i.e. 42km of the 48km Sisophon-Poipet segment has now been completed.

The remaining 6km which is located at PK 380+000 to the Cambodian-Thai border (Poipet) is planned to be built late this year with the national budget, while the railway materials/equipment have already bought and stored at Poipet Railway Station. The 43-meter railway bridge at the Cambodian-Thai border is currently under construction and will be finished by the end of April this year.

The 32km segment from the junction at PK 9+400 to Bat Doeng has already been rehabilitated. Much of the 306km northern line hasn’t been rehabilitated yet, and the royal government is still seeking funding from development partners and investment companies to work on this main segment. We predict the Cambodian railway will link to the Thai railway by the end of 2016.

After the whole railway system is completed, the northern line’s role will be to prominently serve the Kingdom’s economy by focusing strongly on the growth of cargo transportation across the region and also include growing tourism.

3. Besides the ADB-backed railway rehabilitation project that runs from Sihanoukville across Phnom Penh and links to Thailand, there is a mega railway project worth US$9.6 billion being developed by a Chinese investor, China Railway Group Limited that links Preah Vihear to Koh Kong. Can you give any updates on this project?

Despite the plan having been heardthrough the media for a few years, there has been no exact planning or information sent by those investors to the ministry yet.

4. Cambodia and Vietnam signed a deal several years ago to link their railways from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh to cost about US$500 million with Chinese support as part of a link from Singapore to Kunming in China. What is the latest update on this program now?

So far, the Chinese technical team has again been conducting studies on this project before deciding whether the plan will go ahead as per the previous design or whether changes are required.

5. At a meeting with the Cambodian Minister of Commerce earlier this year, China Railway Group Limited’s director said his firm wants to do a feasibility study on another railway in Cambodia. Do you happen to know about their plan?

It is just the initial intention that they have released to the royal government through the first meeting and there no detailed information on their plan has ever been released yet.

6. Besides the above projects, are there any railway development plans either by the government or the private sector that are in the progress or in the pipeline? What are they?

We have cooperated with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) to study a Master Plan for Railway Network Development in Cambodia for the purpose of formulating an efficient and systematic national railway network by analyzing the feasibility for the first priority routes and establishing the comprehensive railway master plan in Cambodia.

The railway network master plan which was published in December 2013 identified 4 goals and 7 strategies. Those goals are; to develop the railway to invigorate the economy and national development; develop the railway to progress in the region and to eradicate poverty; strengthen international cooperation and economic growth and establish the traffic system with low cost and high efficiency. To achieve these goals, 7 strategies are applied. They are; develop with multi-growth, national integrated development, invigorating the regional economy, developing the regions to eradicate poverty, establishing the international network, establishing the integrated system and building a high-speed railway system.

7. The ADB-backed railway project focuses only on cargo transportation with a slow speed-build railway. Is it competitive enough compared to cargo trucks or other means of logistics? Does the government plan to upgrade the railway to a faster model? When can that be?

The ADB-backed railway network development project will enhance the railway logistics system in Cambodia to a speed ranking from 50km/h to 80km/h.

8. There are rumors that the government will relocate the railway station to somewhere on the outskirts of the city. Is that true?

The current railway station which is located in dowtown Phnom Penh will serve as the master station for the future passenger railway terminal. The government has a plan to build the cargo railway station at Samrong which will be built on 98 hectares in Dangkor district on the outskirts of Phnom Penh. It will cost US$64 million and be partly funded by a US$42 million loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

9. So far we have only heard about railway development to carry goods. When can we expect to have the passenger railway system?

The railway concessional agreement with Toll Royal Railway (TRR) focuses only on the cargo logistics services. The railway service to serve passengers is the government’s responsibility and currently we are studying it.