Melbourne (FN), Mar. 3 – Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet announced that the Funan Techo Canal Project will serve the water transport sector, linking rivers to the sea, creating jobs, and reducing transportation costs.
The premier spoke on Sunday (Mar. 3) during his meeting with Cambodians in Australia and New Zealand.
Samdech Thipadei underscored, "We have a project to construct a canal called Funan Techo Canal, connecting the sea in Kampot to our Bassac River. With this project, people can transport goods from Kratie province by boat to the sea, reducing transportation costs and enriching the people as it transforms into an industrial area."
The Tonle Bassac Navigation Road and Logistics System Project was named the "Funan Techo Canal" project at the 6th Plenary Session of the National Assembly on 19 May 2023. On 7 June 2023, the government decided to establish an inter-ministerial commission to implement the project.
The Funan-Techo canal is 180 km long from Prek Takeo of the Mekong River, through the Prek Ta Ek of the Bassac River, then into Prek Ta Hing of the Bassac River, Koh Thom district, and extends to the Kep province passes through four provinces, including Kandal, Takeo, Kampot and Kep, with a total population of 1.6 million people living on both side of the waterway. The waterway is 100 meters wide upstream and 80 meters downstream and a depth of 5.4 meters (navigation depth 4.7 meters and safety gap 0.7 meters), 2 lanes can get in and out and avoid each other safely.
The project will build three waterway dams, build 11 bridges, build a 208-kilometer sidewalk, and provide navigation assistance and other cross-river infrastructure. The construction of the new waterway project is estimated to cost USD 1.7 billion and take about four years to complete.
The Tonle Bassac Navigation and Logistics System project will provide many benefits, including reducing the time, distance and cost of current transport, the establishment of commercial areas and logistics centres, and the development of new satellite ports, more expansion of agriculture, irrigation, aquaculture and livestock development areas, supporting the development of Cambodia's fourth economic pole, creating more jobs at Sihanoukville Autonomous Port, Phnom Penh Autonomous Port and other Ports, promoting urban development and urbanization, and the promotion of real estate growth.
On 17 October 2023, Cambodia signed an agreement to allow China Bridge and Road Corporation (CRBC) to conduct a feasibility study on the "Funan Techo Canal" project.
Separately, the new deep-water container port - this first phase will cover the construction of a 350-metre-long and 14.5-metre-deep container terminal. The expansion is expected to allow ships of up to 4,000 TEU to call at the terminal. The container port will be able to accommodate container vessels with a capacity of 60,000 tons or 4,000 TEUs, with transit routes in the Asia-Pacific region to the Sihanoukville Autonomous Port and will increase capacity. Total ports reach about 1.25 million TEUs per year. The project is scheduled for completion in 2026.
=FRESH NEWS
