By Tham Choy Lin
KUNMING, Nov 3 (Bernama) -- Cambodia will begin laying rail tracks donated by Malaysia within the next few months to link its towns of Poipet and Sisophon as part of the Asean-driven Singapore-Kunming Rail Link (SKRL).
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy said Friday the first load of tracks had arrived in Aranyaprathet, the Thai border town with Cambodia, and the transfer of five more batches would be completed by the middle of next month.
"The tracks arrived yesterday morning. Cambodia will commence work on the Poipet-Sisophon link by early next year and it will be completed in 2009," Chan said after chairing the eighth special working group meeting on the SKRL here.
At the meeting, Malaysia, which started as the project coordinator for the rail project in 1995, was unanimously elected to continue as chairman for 2007 and 2008.
The session was attended by transport and rail authorities from China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam as well as representatives from the Asean secretariat.
Present were China's Vice-Minister for Railways Lu Dong Fu and Yunnan province Vice-Governor Qin Guang Reng. Kunming is the capital of Yunnan, southwest of China.
Chan said the funding to lay the tracks for the 48km Poipet-Siophon link would come from a US$72 million (RM260 million) loan from the Asian Development Bank to Cambodia and part of the money would be used for the rehabilitation of a connection between Phnom Penh and the port city of Sihanoukville.
Once ready, travellers can journey from Singapore through Malaysia and Thailand all the way to Phnom Penh using this eastern route of the SKRL.
Chan said that for the next gap between Phnom Penh and Loc Ninh inside Cambodia, a distance of 257km, Cambodia was seeking assistance from China. From Loc Ninh, the rail will connect to Ho Chi Minh City in southern Vietnam.
Malaysia, which had spent US$100 million (RM360 million) on the feasibility study for SKRL, had donated 106km of used tracks worth RM7.5 million and weighing 4,200 tonnes that were dug up to make way for a double track electrified train service between Ipoh and Rawang.
The entire route is part of the eastern link of the SKRL that will link the more developed Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand to the Indochina corridor and become an economic artery for Cambodia, land-locked Laos and Vietnam.
China also updated the meeting on the construction of two single electrified tracks totalling 300km to link up with Vietnam on the eastern SKRL route and close to another 1,000km over two stretches on the central route to connect with Myanmar.
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy said Friday the first load of tracks had arrived in Aranyaprathet, the Thai border town with Cambodia, and the transfer of five more batches would be completed by the middle of next month.
"The tracks arrived yesterday morning. Cambodia will commence work on the Poipet-Sisophon link by early next year and it will be completed in 2009," Chan said after chairing the eighth special working group meeting on the SKRL here.
At the meeting, Malaysia, which started as the project coordinator for the rail project in 1995, was unanimously elected to continue as chairman for 2007 and 2008.
The session was attended by transport and rail authorities from China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam as well as representatives from the Asean secretariat.
Present were China's Vice-Minister for Railways Lu Dong Fu and Yunnan province Vice-Governor Qin Guang Reng. Kunming is the capital of Yunnan, southwest of China.
Chan said the funding to lay the tracks for the 48km Poipet-Siophon link would come from a US$72 million (RM260 million) loan from the Asian Development Bank to Cambodia and part of the money would be used for the rehabilitation of a connection between Phnom Penh and the port city of Sihanoukville.
Once ready, travellers can journey from Singapore through Malaysia and Thailand all the way to Phnom Penh using this eastern route of the SKRL.
Chan said that for the next gap between Phnom Penh and Loc Ninh inside Cambodia, a distance of 257km, Cambodia was seeking assistance from China. From Loc Ninh, the rail will connect to Ho Chi Minh City in southern Vietnam.
Malaysia, which had spent US$100 million (RM360 million) on the feasibility study for SKRL, had donated 106km of used tracks worth RM7.5 million and weighing 4,200 tonnes that were dug up to make way for a double track electrified train service between Ipoh and Rawang.
The entire route is part of the eastern link of the SKRL that will link the more developed Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand to the Indochina corridor and become an economic artery for Cambodia, land-locked Laos and Vietnam.
China also updated the meeting on the construction of two single electrified tracks totalling 300km to link up with Vietnam on the eastern SKRL route and close to another 1,000km over two stretches on the central route to connect with Myanmar.
3 comments:
Why has the government been so successful in getting the country moving?
SiS
Hello,
The Hun Sen gov't. has been successful in stashing the money in foreing banks. Where as the Khmer people are in the state of destitue; and the country is borderless, in which is allowing foreigners to come in, relentlessly, to looting our natural resources.
IT IS IN DEED VERY MOVING?
Somlor Ma-Chou Yuon Leay . . .
Foreign countries only care to do business with us. They don't pay much attention to the turmoil that
we have.
We need to learn to excercise our right and power more by choosing the new Government during next election.
If the current Government deosn't have the right quality to run the country, choose a new onw and a new one. We need to do that until we find the right one.
No government should have the right to intimidate us. All of us just have to know that Cambodia is a constitutional right Democracy and we have King, but Kingdeosn't rule. He only reigns. Don't let anybody determine the ballot for us. We do it, because we think it's right for us and not for them. It's time to say enough is enough and change it.
Do we remember that by the year of 2015 or 2020, Asia continent will have just one currency?
Now the world isn't stoping or waiting for us. They are moving and moving forward.
That brand new rail road which about to be born seems to suggest trade across Asia's countries and Cambodia appreancely is one of them. The world wants to include us and to do business with us. We just need the right representative to do business with them for us. Right now, it sure seem,we got a wrong one or an unsatifying one.
The Hun Sen government will be The Hun Sen government, if we continue to be afraid and not going to vote for change. It's your, mine,our brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts and anybody who is qualify to vote's choise. What do you think?
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