Cambodia Launches 250km Border Ring Road with Nearly USD 27 Million in People-Driven Funding

• Sommana Yan
• 4 November 2024
• Uncategorized
• 2514 Views

Cambodia has commenced construction on a 250-kilometre border ring road funded by the Foundation for Border Infrastructure Development (FBID), backed by nearly USD 27 million in donations. Officially launched on 1 November 2024, this crucial infrastructure project is expected to be completed by April 2027, according to HE Kim Bunthan, Chairman of the FBID, at a press conference held on 1 November 2024.

During the conference, HE Kim Bunthan confirmed that the 250km road project represents 18.4% of the remaining 51.9% of Cambodia’s unfinished border ring road network. The construction budget, totaling precisely USD 26,967,609, was raised over 66 days—from 26 August to 31 October 2024—through contributions from 720,105 local and international donors, amounting to 32,952,442,044 Riels and USD 18,729,998.

The border road, stretching across Mondulkiri (147.42 km) and Rattanakiri (102.58 km), will feature a 9–10 metre paved roadbed and a 7-metre-wide driving surface. The plan also includes vital infrastructure enhancements, such as mine clearance over 6,250,000 m², 23 steel-fiber concrete bridges totaling 567 meters, 47 concrete box drains spanning 369 meters, 494 types of concrete ditches, and two water storage roads totaling 72 meters in length.

Highlighting the historical progress, the FBID reported that from 1994 to 2023, Cambodia achieved 48.1% completion of the border ring road and cleared approximately 30,000 hectares of mines and unexploded ordnance, leaving 51.9% of the network still to be developed.

• Road and Infrastructure