Man drives homemade wooden cart on railroad in Kampong Chhnang province some 50 kilometers north of Phnom Penh (2008 file photo)By Luke Hunt
Voice of America
Phnom Penh
15 May 2009
Chinese and Australian engineers are gearing up to build the final stretch of track in the Trans-Asian Railway, which will link Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand with Vietnam and China through Cambodia. The Cambodian government has divided the country's railway system in two. Australia's Toll Holdings takes control of old French-built lines in the east, which run from the capital to the Thai border and south to Sihanoukville, home to one of the largest ports in the Gulf of Siam.
The China Railway Group has the contract to carry out a feasibility study that will link Phnom Penh with Snoul near this country's western border with Vietnam.
This 255-kilometer stretch will complete the Singapore-to-Kunming line, a railway connecting southeast Asia to the heart of China.
Paul Power is an advisor to the Cambodian government and team leader for the Asian Development Bank's involvement in the reconstruction of Cambodia's railways. He says the railway's economic benefit for the region and Cambodia will be enormous.
"It makes Cambodia the hub of transportation between China and Singapore and you would have a port link, you would have a link to Thailand, you'll have a link through to Vietnam," Power said, "and the implications for that, for Cambodia in the region, are that Cambodia becomes the hub."
He says freight will provide the greatest economic benefits, particularly for shipping bulk goods like rice. The railway will be a cheaper alternative to ships and trucks.
However, the contractors first must deal with the thorny issue of resettling people living along the route. In Cambodia, poor landholders often are pushed out with little compensation to make way for commercial developments, causing considerable public anger.
Power says the companies working on the railway are aware of the problems that have afflicted other construction projects and thinks they can avoid similar difficulties.
If the resettlement issues are resolved quickly then authorities hope the first passengers from Singapore to China and beyond as far as London, will start boarding within the next two years.
The China Railway Group has the contract to carry out a feasibility study that will link Phnom Penh with Snoul near this country's western border with Vietnam.
This 255-kilometer stretch will complete the Singapore-to-Kunming line, a railway connecting southeast Asia to the heart of China.
Paul Power is an advisor to the Cambodian government and team leader for the Asian Development Bank's involvement in the reconstruction of Cambodia's railways. He says the railway's economic benefit for the region and Cambodia will be enormous.
"It makes Cambodia the hub of transportation between China and Singapore and you would have a port link, you would have a link to Thailand, you'll have a link through to Vietnam," Power said, "and the implications for that, for Cambodia in the region, are that Cambodia becomes the hub."
He says freight will provide the greatest economic benefits, particularly for shipping bulk goods like rice. The railway will be a cheaper alternative to ships and trucks.
However, the contractors first must deal with the thorny issue of resettling people living along the route. In Cambodia, poor landholders often are pushed out with little compensation to make way for commercial developments, causing considerable public anger.
Power says the companies working on the railway are aware of the problems that have afflicted other construction projects and thinks they can avoid similar difficulties.
If the resettlement issues are resolved quickly then authorities hope the first passengers from Singapore to China and beyond as far as London, will start boarding within the next two years.
10 comments:
First ah Kwack will have his family grab land along the rout than will move families of his bodyguard too to some remoted area along the rout!
They, ah Hun Xen tugs will get all the hight compansation from the budget!
And the real poor people who live on the rout for decdes would push out with small compensation or none!
Do ma ah sva PhD!
Firstly, my hat go off to all the Khmer compatriots, scholars, intellectuals, and the Khmers around the world in and outside the Khmer Empire nation, who's tirelesly to helps fought for Khmer Krom to reach our independent in the near future.
Secondly, this coming June the fourth Khmer Krom and Khmer around the world will commemorated and observed the lost of Kampuchea Krom 60th aniversaries. To all Khmer around the world, please help participates in this events by seeking the information from Khmer Krom representative everywhere in your community.
Thirdly, my respectfully goes to the team of KI-Media. So far your team had done a tremendous job for the Khmer benefits and keep up the good works.
Fourthly, to all Khmer abroad please bring back The Fourth Factions or Paris Peace Accord unity strategy models.In the early ninety the only Youn pullout from Cambodia because we Khmers had united. Back then king Seyhanouk had all the power, popularity and was incharged. Every body respected him from Khmer perspective and the international community perspective. If I were him I would use this power and popularity to declare to the world community that the Khmer people still under the supression, aggression of Youn and Seam. In doing so, his reputations and credibility will be installed next to the Great Khmer King Jayavarman VII.
In the case of Kampuchea Krom, if we use this exact models we Khmer will once again liberated Kampuchea Krom from the Youn iron grips.And possibly Khmer Krom can declare their independent or reannexed to Cambodia who knows.
Respectively your,
Khmer Empire
yes, glad to hear this wonderful news for cambodia. we need to upgrade or renovate all of our railway system and even to add new ones as well. yes, with modern railway system, it will be easy to transports the rich agricultural products, etc we see in cambodia to phnom penh and beyond. it's time cambodia must focus our attention to modernize our infrastructure. now, infrastructure should be as diverse as the economic and people. for example, infrastructure are not limited to highway or roadway system but waterways access, electricity, sewage sytem irrigation or canal system, airports, etc, etc... it is very important to overhaul all of cambodia's infrastructure to attract not only big investors, but for the good, convenient standard of living of all khmer people and citizens as well as the country itself. god bless cambodia.
Railway Station in Phnom Penh looks good from outside only! inside are junks yards pice of craps...
To 6:42am
Once the railroads are built or fixed. The station will be renovated and charm once again. Just be patience, Cambodia just woke up from a nightmare. She needs times to catch up.
This is good news for Cambodia. I love to see her strive again. Bring her back to the glory day 1965!
Love you all Khmers,
KhmerNY
i was told by my parents that during the 1960s before the stupid, idiot KR regime came to power and almost destroyed cambodia completely, cambodia and khmer people were happy and enjoy the convenient train ride, traveling and staying out late no curfew at nights etc and still felt very safe. all khmer people who were old enough to remember or lived through this short golden age of modern cambodia would like to see cambodia fully redevelopes again like after independence from france. i'm very optimistic that cambodia will strive and will see that good old time again in the near future once all modern infrastructure in the country is put into use and rebuilt, etc... cambodia is not a bad country at all believe it or not, we just need to have redevelopment going again so all can enjoy the good life etc again in our belove cambodia. god bless cambodia.
also, according to my parents, phnom penh as a very cosmopolitan capital city during the 1960s, very clean, orderly, civilized and beautiful. once such landmark structures like the famous architecture psah thmey is finished renovating, the many modern infrastructure like bridge, skyscrapers, parks, landscapes, etc are finished, phnom penh and cambodia will see those happy days again. please be patient, my dear. we all can help to make cambodia a better place to live, work and visit, etc... remember, the KR destroyed almost everything in cambodia, and so we had to start all over again almost. so, please be patient and help each other to understand by educating and be optimistic about our country again. we should overcome soon enough. god bless cambodia.
also khmer people during the 1960s had a lot of respect for one another; respects are given to rank, elderly, older people, professional occupations, etc... have you ever seen the type of respect one sees in the military, that's how khmer society was like that during the 1960s before the brutal KR destroyed everything. let's educate our people to love and give proper respect to each other again. god bless cambodia.
That's a good news but make sure government make a plan or arrange patrol to look after the rail track :)
Correction!. The Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville railways was built by Cambodia after independence from France in the 1960's. The French built the Sihanoukville Port not this railways.
Post a Comment