PHNOM PENH, March 5 (AFP) – Cambodia's rail network should be restored by 2013 with the help of millions of dollars in international aid, the country's finance minister said.
Trains have only run sporadically in Cambodia since the country's civil war ended in the 1990s, but finance minister Keat Chhon said workers will complete an overhaul of the rail system in the next few years.
''The project implementation started in 2007 and expects to be complete in 2013,'' Keat Chhon said during a ceremony in which the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Australian government gave more funds to complete the rail network.
Officials hope patching up Cambodia's railways will boost the country's economic growth and facilitate trade with other countries in Southeast Asia.
The total cost to reconstruct the 600 kilometers (373 miles) of rails, connecting them to highways and ports, is expected to be 141.6 million dollars, Keat Chhon said.
The minister made his remarks after receiving an additional loan of $42 million from the ADB and a grant of $21.5 million from Australia for the project.
The ADB has provided $84 million in total loans to restore Cambodia's railway, he said.
Another $13 million come from the OPEC Fund for international development, while Malaysia had contributed 106 kilometers of track worth $2.8 million, Keat Chhon added.
It has long been a regional dream to connect Asia by rail, and many of the gaps in the railway are in Southeast Asia, with only Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand operating cross-border links.
Trains have only run sporadically in Cambodia since the country's civil war ended in the 1990s, but finance minister Keat Chhon said workers will complete an overhaul of the rail system in the next few years.
''The project implementation started in 2007 and expects to be complete in 2013,'' Keat Chhon said during a ceremony in which the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Australian government gave more funds to complete the rail network.
Officials hope patching up Cambodia's railways will boost the country's economic growth and facilitate trade with other countries in Southeast Asia.
The total cost to reconstruct the 600 kilometers (373 miles) of rails, connecting them to highways and ports, is expected to be 141.6 million dollars, Keat Chhon said.
The minister made his remarks after receiving an additional loan of $42 million from the ADB and a grant of $21.5 million from Australia for the project.
The ADB has provided $84 million in total loans to restore Cambodia's railway, he said.
Another $13 million come from the OPEC Fund for international development, while Malaysia had contributed 106 kilometers of track worth $2.8 million, Keat Chhon added.
It has long been a regional dream to connect Asia by rail, and many of the gaps in the railway are in Southeast Asia, with only Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand operating cross-border links.
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it's over due. cambodia's railway system should be fixed and put into usage sooner rather than later. people should have choices of travel around the country as well as a good form of transportation for the growing economy.
hope some day cambodia will have metro train in the cities as well.
The news of the railkway reconstruction is exciting! It needs to be done as quickly as possible. Additionally, work on the route to Vietnam should also get underway quickly. A route to Angkor Wat and the Seim Reap area should also be constructed. These routes, with reasonably frequent passenger service in modern equipment will greatly increase tourist travel to Cambodia and provide many jobs. As mentioned above, an LRT (Light Rail Transit) system needs to be developed for Phnom Penh, with about 10 lines to cover the city, rail station, and airport with modern, comfortable and safe transportation, similar to the excellent systems in European cities such as Gotenborg, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Munich, Stuttgart, Hanover, Dresden, Rotterdam, Brussels, Antwerp, Zurich, Vienna, Milan, Basle, Geneva, Leon, Innsbruck, Budapest, Prague, etc. These improvements CAN be made if the vision and WILL is there!
yes, siem reap can use a railway connecting to phnom penh and the rest of cambodia.
I am glad to hear that the railway is soon to operate again. But I just have one question: Can Cambodia do something, anything, by herself without help from outside?
of course we can, however, we want the industrialized nations to participate in our development of the infrastructure. we all can share knowledge and consult one another, really! this is the new millenium, not the dark ages or stone ages, you know. yes, knowledge is shared nowadays, don't be so selfish and evil, ok!
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