National Road 4 Expanded

• 31 December 2015
• Local News
• 3117 Views

Since mid-2014, the kingdom’s most important economic route, National Road No. 4 which connects Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville sea port has been undergoing a large-scale expansion.

National Road No. 4 was built in the 1950s to carry goods to and from the sea port that was built at the same time. However, the 230km long, 7 meter wide two-lane highway is also considered the most dangerous road in Cambodia due to the high rate of traffic accidents and minimal presence and control of the authorities.

Having won the concession to develop and maintain the road for 35 years starting from 2000, the AZ Group started expanding the 5 decade-old road last June to a width of 14 meters with 4 lanes, with some sections up to 60 meters wide in the areas around the toll booths. An AZ Group representative told Construction and Property Magazine that the expansion plan is being implemented to enhance traffic flow as well as to reduce accidents on the road, “We are still considering what to do for the expansion plan of the road,” he said. “However, we can’t release our development plan now so as to avoid property prices along the road rising.”

Parts of the road are being kept to their original size due to costly barriers, while some other parts can be expanded to 14 meters. Some segments are expanded to the maximum size of 60 meters width such as the areas near the company’s road toll stations.

Despite no time line or budget for the expansion works having been revealed, Sihanoukville Provincial Governor Chit Sokhon told CTN TV that the provincial municipality has a plan to build a ring road connecting National Road No. 4 near Sihanoukville International Airport direct to Otres Beach on the coast, separating traffic flow between container trucks and tourist vehicles to reduce traffic congestion as well as traffic accidents.

Sok Chheang, President of the Cambodia Trucking Association, that has 20 trucking companies as members with a total of about 2,000 container trucks, endorses the road expansion plan, saying that a larger road can allow the trucks to travel smoother and faster and can save time while also reducing traffic accidents due to increased road space.

According to Chheang, cargo transport from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville costs on average $200 per container, while the cost rises to around $270 per container from Sihanoukville to Phnom Penh.

Despite Chheang appreciating much of AZ’s road expansion program, he also offered recommendations. “I think AZ should build each side of the road to have two lanes for trucks and cars and leave a space of about 2 meters on the roadside for motorbikes. This can allow the trucks to go smoothly on their own lanes while reducing many of the traffic accidents,” he said. “As logistics companies, we really don’t want to face traffic accidents because it wastes a lot of our time and money as well as damaging our reputation”.