PP-SHV Expressway to Be Completed Ahead of Schedule, First Free Ride Trial Set for September 2022

• 21 June 2021
• Local News
• 3423 Views

Construction of the Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway is scheduled to be completed ahead of schedule, changing from the initial date of March 2023 to September 2022, with a free ride trial during the first week or month. Meanwhile, construction is now over 55% complete.

Minister of Public Works and Transport HE Sun Chanthol said during an expressway site inspection on 21 June that the ministry is urging the company to speed up their construction so that it can be completed by September next year.

“After the completion, we will request the firm to allow us to drive on that route for free as a test, maybe for a week or a month, so that Cambodian people can enjoy our first expressway,” said HE Sun Chanthol.

Regarding the toll fee, the ministry is also currently negotiating for the firm to charge as low a fee as possible.

“Usually in foreign countries, they charge 10 cents to 15 cents per kilometre. However, we have urged the company not to charge that rate as it is quite expensive for Cambodia. Cambodia is a developing country, so in the first stage, the price should be somewhere below 10 cents,” said HE Sun Chanthol.

“The company can increase the price later after our economy and our standard of living is improving,” he added.

The Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway has a total length of 190 kilometres connecting Sangkat Samrong Krom, Khan Por Senchey in Phnom Penh to Sangkat 3 in Sihanoukville.

The project is expected to cost a total of US$2 billion and is being built by China Bridge and Road Corporation (CRBC) through the Cambodian PPSHV Expressway Co., Ltd.

• Road and Infrastructure