Detail Study on New Waterway Connecting Tonle Bassac to Kep Set for Completion

• Sommana Yan
• 31 January 2023
• Local News
• 5567 Views

The Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MPWT) will release a detailed study of the new waterway connecting Tonle Bassac to Kep very shortly, confirmed MPWT Minister HE Sun Chanthol on 30 January. 

According to the study, the project will have three gates including a gate from the Mekong River to the Bassac River,  a gate in Takeo, and a gate in Kep to stabilise the water level. 

“These three will help hold water at a certain level all year long. We have technicians and experts from China studying details of all of these,” said HE Sun Chanthol. 

“This is a big project, a historic project that has never happened before in Cambodia. It can help reduce costs, reduce time, and boost international water trade,” he added. 

This new waterway will help reduce the distance by more than 100 km compared to the existing waterway along the Bassac River that connects Phnom Penh Port to Vietnam Port. 

With this new water route, drought will no longer occur, while floods in Kampong Speu and Takeo will also be significantly reduced. 

The minister added that technically, there will be no problems, there is no drainage of the Mekong River into the sea or salt water flowing from the sea in Kep into the Bassac River, with a clear assessment using drones. 

This project has been studied for more than two years by two companies including China Bridge and Road Corporation (CRBC) and CCCC Water Transport Consultant. (Read more)

In the meantime, new ports in Phnom Penh, Kampong Chhnang, Kilometre No 6, and Tonle Beit are also under construction to boost water transport. 

• Road and Infrastructure