South Korea to increase loans to support infrastructure in Cambodia

• 28 November 2019
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During the ASEAN-Republic of Korea Commemorative Summit on 25-25 November in Busan, H.E Prak Sokhonn, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, thanked South Korea for its contribution to infrastructure development by increasing financial loans from US$350 to US$700 million for 2019-2023, according to AKP.

During the bilateral meeting, Cambodia and the Republic of Korea signed several important documents, including cooperation on the transportation sector.

It is unclear if the additional financial loans from Korea will make the construction of a bridge connecting Chroy Changvar to Svay Chrum possible, or if the US$700 million will be included in the project to build a new bridge connecting Kampong Chhnang to Kampong Thom. The latter would be the longest bridge in Cambodia and if it were to go ahead as scheduled would be started by the end of 2019 or early 2020.

Korea has expressed interested in the construction of the bridge to Svay Chum, but the specific location of the bridge or the timeframe is yet to be specified since it is only in the first phase of feasibility study.

Senior officials at the Korean Embassy in Cambodia, who asked not to be named told Construction and Property Magazine in June 2018 that bridge project is challenging related to some procedures because the brief study of the project revealed that the bridge would cost hundreds of millions of dollars, or more, so the Korean government needs to spend more time studying before deciding to release any budget.

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