Work on 5th Cambodia-China Friendship Bridge begins in Cambodia's capital

PHNOM PENH, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia on Wednesday broke ground for the construction of the 5th Cambodia-China Friendship Bridge, or 2nd Chroy Changvar Bridge, across Tonle Sap River to reduce traffic congestion and to keep up with the country's fast pace of economic development.

The would-be 719-meter bridge is located in Phnom Penh's Russei Keo district, connecting the capital Phnom Penh in the west of the river to National Road No. 6 in the east of the river.

The bridge is in parallel with the existing Cambodia-Japan Friendship Bridge, or Chroy Changvar Bridge.

Cambodia, China announce 1.6billion dollar deal: officials

China's Wu Bangguo (L) toasts with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen

Thursday, November 04, 2010
AFP

PHNOM PENH — China will inject 1.6 billion dollars into Cambodian infrastructure over five years, officials said Thursday, just days after the US urged the country not to become too dependent on the Asian giant.

"Within the next five years, Cambodia and China will have 23 co-operation projects," government spokesman Khieu Kanharith told reporters after a meeting between China's top legislator Wu Bangguo and the Cambodian Prime Minister, Hun Sen.

Hydropower dams, mining projects, bridges and railway links would be among the initiatives funded by China between 2010 and 2015, he added.

At their meeting in Phnom Pehn, Wu and Hun Sen witnessed the signing of 16 deals, including a loan agreement arranged by the Bank of China that will see Cambodia's largest mobile operator CamGSM borrow over 590 million dollars.

China also plans to help Cambodia build a new railway to neighbouring Vietnam, providing one of the last missing links for a pan-Asian network that would connect Singapore with China's Kunming by train, according to the spokesman.

He said Wu also promised to boost Chinese direct investment in the kingdom, which so far this year stands at 610 million dollars.

Wu's visit to Cambodia comes just days after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made a high-profile appearance in the country and urged Cambodians not to become "too dependent" on China.

Khieu Kanharith said Wu hailed the "fast growing ties" between the two countries and told Hun Sen that "China does not want to seek power and become the owner of the region".

China -- a former patron of the Khmer Rouge regime, which oversaw the deaths of up to two million people in the 1970s -- is the country's top donor, according to Cambodia.

Nearly 400 Chinese companies have invested billions of dollars in Cambodia, including key infrastructure projects such as hydropower dams and coal power plants.

But China's involvement in the country has not been without controversy.

A December 2009 decision by Cambodia to deport 20 Uighurs, a largely Muslim minority group in western China -- despite their application for UN refugee status -- came ahead of a 1.2 billion dollar aid and loan package from Beijing.

China has rejected accusations that the generous package was linked to the move.

China provides preferential loan for Cambodia's road development

PHNOM PENH, May 19 (Xinhua) -- China on Tuesday provided about 73 million U.S. dollars of a concessional loan to Cambodia to build a part of main road in the northeastern part of the country to develop that area into a newly potential economic zone.

The fund will be used for building a 121km-long road, a part of national road 78 from Stung Treng province to Ratanakiri province, according to the Cambodian Ministry of Economics and Finance.

The road will be used for border-crossing trade activities, transport, and tourism with the neighboring countries in the framework of triangle development in the Great Mekong Sub-region (GMS), Keat Chhon, deputy prime minister and minister of economics and finance, said at the signing ceremony with Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Zhang Jinfeng.

The project will be contributed to integrate the internal road system in the country and linking the road to regional road networks, he said, adding that it will connect the northeastern part of the country with central Vietnam.

The road is a blood vessel for northeastern areas, Keat Chhon said. He also thanked the Chinese government for its persistent support to Cambodia's social and economic development.

Ambassador Zhang expressed confidence that the road will be sure to help the poverty reduction in Cambodia's northeastern area and to play an important role in promoting the economic development there.