Schedule Set for Cambodia-thai Border Bridge

• 12 September 2017
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The Cambodian and Thai governments have agreed to break ground on a new bridge spanning the two nations’ borders. Work will start on the new Stung Bot-Norng bridge in January 2018, and will link Banteay Meanchey province to Ban Norng Ian in Sa Kaeo province.

The news was announced on 6 September during a meeting between Cambodian Minister of Public Works & Transport H.E. Sun Chanthol and H.E. Arkhom Termpittayapaisith, Minister of Transport of Thailand.

On 16 December 2016, the two counterparts inked an agreement and addendum to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the Stung Bot Bridge construction and the exchange of traffic rights for cross-border transport.

The Thai government has provided a grant to build the section of the bridge located on the Cambodian side as well as a concessional loan to construct the border facilities at the new checkpoint. According to Ministry of Public Works & Transport, the road from the new checkpoint to National Road No. 5 is also ASEAN Highway No. 1.

The Khmer Times reported Ministry of Public Works & Transport spokesman Va Sim Soriya as saying that the concessional loan for developing facilities and road construction was USD58million, USD30million of which Thailand will offer for the first phase.

While no completion date has been formally announced for the project yet, Va Sim Soriya stated that, “Construction will take one year to complete, and then it would become another international border gate corridor.”