Construction of Koh Norea Bridges Begins, Marking New Stage of US$2.5-billion Satellite City

• 26 October 2020
• Local News
• 9160 Views

The Overseas Cambodia Investment Corporation (OCIC) broke ground on two major bridge projects on 26 October, one of which connects Koh Pich city to Koh Norea and another connecting Koh Norea to NR1, marking to stage of the US$2.5-billion satellite city.

The groundbreaking ceremony of the two bridges was presided over by Samdech Prime Minister Hun Sen.

The first bridge connecting NR1 to Korea is a rainbow-shaped concrete bridge which is 16 metres long and 21 metres wide. The construction is expected to cost US$1.6 million and will take approximately 12 months to complete.

The second bridge connecting Koh Pich to Koh Norea is 824 metres long and 24.5 metres wide and has two 60-metre-high cable-stayed pillars with Khmer carvings. The height from the water surface to the bridge for ship crossings is at least 8 metres in the rainy season.

The bridge has four main lanes and two motorbike lanes of 3.25 metres and 1.24 metres wide each. The construction is expected to cost US$38 million and will take about 35 months to complete.

Building these two bridges is part of the OCIC’s mega project of turning Koh Norea into
a new satellite city.

OCIC has thus far been building concrete foundations and filling the bank with sand and stone to prepare for the main infrastructure. Since the beginning of the construction in October 2018 to now, the development of Koh Norea Satellite city is about 27% complete.

Developed on over 125 hectares of land, this US$2.5-billion project will comprise commercial areas, theatres, parks, residential areas, residential buildings, banks, universities and a medical centre, among other features.

OCIC Chairman Neak Oknha Pung Kheav Se said during the ground-breaking ceremony that Koh Norea satellite city will strongly contribute to the country’s economy by attracting investors and creating jobs.

“This project will bring a lot of socio-economic benefits to our country amid the current economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Koh Nora satellite city will cost approximately US$2.5 billion. In the past three years, OCIC has already spent US$550 million for basic infrastructure development. This has contributed approximately US$225 million or equivalent to nearly 0.9% of Cambodia’s annual GDP,” said Neak Oknha Pung Kheav Se.

“At the moment, the project is creating 700 jobs. The number will increase to 7,000 when the project is fully operated. Upon completion, this new satellite city will host a least 50,000 people and create over 10,000 jobs on a daily basis,” he added.

Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen in response admired OCIC for this massive investment, which undeniably contributes a lot to the kingdom’s economy.

“I would say this is a big achievement for OCIC on the ‘Land of Peace’. Investment from the private sector is definitely the backbone of the country’s economic growth and development. Despite the pandemic, the government will continue to support and encourage more investment from both local and international investors,” said PM Hun Sen. The Overseas Cambodia Investment Corporation (OCIC) this morning (October 26) broke ground on the two major bridge projects, one of which connecting Koh Pich city to new satellite city Koh Norea and another connecting Koh Norea to NR1.

 

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