CRBC completes financial close for US$1.8 billion expressway

• 17 July 2019
• Local News
• 1612 Views

China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) has closed financing on a US$1.8 billion expressway project in Cambodia.

The financial close of the project was made for the 190-km expressway connecting Phnom Penh capital to the country’s deep seaport Preah Sihanoukville province in March this year.

Global law firm Hunton Andrews Kurth provided CRBC with financial counsel on the public-private partnership (PPP) development, the company announced on Monday.

The firm represents project lenders, investors, developers, sponsors and governments throughout Africa, Asia, Latin America and the United States on PPP transactions.

H.E Vasim Sorya, spokesman at Ministry of Public Works and Transports said on 09 July that the construction of the expressway is proceeding as planned and the firm has submitted the update report of construction every month.

“The firm has started construction as planned and the ministry has also received the monthly update report for May and for June, the report has not yet been submitted to the ministry,” Mr Sorya said.

“We already plan. We want to push the firm to construct the expressway completely in 2022 because in 2022 we have the ASEAN Summit and Cambodia also hosts the Asia Game in 2023, so we will push the work to be completed,” Mr Sorya said.

Estimated to cost US$2 billion, the expressway is the result of an investment by China Road and Bridge Corporation.
The expressway stretches over 190km starting from Por Senchey district in Phnom Penh to Sangkat Number 3 in Sihanouk city.

The groundbreaking ceremony of the mega-investment expressway was held on 22 March 2019. Once complete, drivers can use the expressway at speeds of 100-120km per hour.

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