MPWT: Phnom Penh-Sihanouk Expressway construction continues smoothly despite COVID-19 and geographical challenges

• 8 May 2020
• Local News
• 5714 Views

The Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville expressway construction project continues smoothly despite some challenges in terms of geographical factors and the COVID-19 pandemic, thanks to the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MPWT) cooperating well with relevant institutions and workers’ efforts to get the job done on schedule.

This explanation was given by H.E Kong Vimean, Deputy Secretary of State of Ministry of Public Works and Transport in an interview with Construction & Property Magazine on 06 April 2020.

“We are facing some challenges in terms of geographical issue. This expressway has a distance of nearly 200 kilometers, and we have to cross urban areas, highlands, mountains, and valleys. It requires our team to study and deal with the impacts on the citizens,” said H.E. Kong Vimean.

“For the solution for the people, we will solve step by step which is not a major obstacle for the project. We have our committee chairmen of the Ministry of Economy and Finance to solve the impacts along with the inter-ministerial team as well as the local authorities and we have successfully dealt with it,” he added.

Regarding the COVID-19 crisis, he also mentioned that it has not affected the road construction process. Despite the lack of infections on the project site, the ministry has taken stern measures to prevent the virus from infecting employees and workers at the site. In addition to providing masks, hand sanitizers and restrooms on the worksite, they also distributed leaflets and handbooks about COVID-19 to the workers. Xu Song, general manager of about 280 workers at the construction site, told Xinhua News on this 06 May,

“All staff needs to have temperature tests every day, offices and dormitories are sanitized twice a day, and newly recruited workers and people who return after a vacation in China need to be quarantined for 14 days,” Xu said.

Regarding the expressway construction progress, H.E Kong Vimean added, “From the ground-breaking ceremony to the present day, we have completed 21% of construction and the project will be complete in October 2022.”

Cambodia’s first expressway is a mega infrastructure project built with four lanes stretching over 190km across five cities and provinces, costing US$1.9 billion and is an investment by China Bridge and Road Corporation (CRBC). (Read more)

• Road and Infrastructure