Kampot (FN), August 8 – Kampot International Port began the construction at 8:00 am on 8 August 2018, presided over by Thong Khon, Minister of Tourism, with the participation of Cheav Tay, Kampot governor, representative of the Asia Development Bank (ADB) Phnom Penh, and about 800 civil servants.

Thong Khon said that the government received concessional loans from ADB to invest in relevant tourism infrastructure in three coastal provinces, including Kep, Kampot and Koh Kong provinces in order to enhance waterway transportation and connectivity and promote tourism.

The port also improves Thai-Cambodian-Vietnamese tourism, by creating new products and communities; developing human resources, especially promoting tourism skills and improving the quality of tourist services and people's living conditions; promoting socio-economic development in coastal areas; and paving Cambodian maritime routes to the region and the world.

He said that Cambodian government has put great efforts in promoting the development of waterways, especially in the ports of Sihanoukville and Kampot as well as other coastal provinces.

Tith Chantha, secretary of state of the Ministry of Tourism, said that the construction project of Kampot's international tourist port costs more than $8 million, financed by ADB.

Tourism minister recommended to all stakeholders to jointly promote coastal tourism development in Kampot province to be sustainable and accountable by three main concepts, "Green, Clean, and Smart", focusing on the strategic plan, master plan, and further development plans, especially the implementation of 2016-2020 Kampot Tourism Development Plan.

Apart from the development of the waterway system, the Royal Government has also worked to expand land and air infrastructure.

With improved connectivity and tourism sectors, in the first six months of 2018, Cambodia welcomed approximately three million international tourists, an increase of 13% compared to same period in 2017 and is expected to receive 6.2 million tourists by 2019.

In the whole 2017, the coastal areas received about 3.2 million tourists, of which 740,000 are international tourists, an increase of 20%.

By 2020, Cambodia is projected to welcome around seven million international tourists, with revenue of over $5 billion, and create about one million direct jobs and millions of other indirect jobs.
=FRESH NEWS