Phnom Penh-Bavet Expressway Bridge to Cost $200 million
new bridge across the Mekong River to connect with the planned Phnom Penh-Bavet expressway will cost about $200 million, PM Hun Sen has revealed. Photo: Prime Minister Hun Sen Facebook
- By Teng Yalirozy
- December 13, 2022 5:00 PM
PHNOM PENH – A new bridge across the Mekong River to connect with the planned Phnom Penh-Bavet expressway will cost about $200 million, PM Hun Sen has revealed.
Crossing the bridge is free but there will be charges to use the expressway. “We have studied the plan,” he said.
The bridge will join the expressway close to National Road No. 1 in Kandal province.
The expressway will connect Phnom Penh with Bavet town in Svay Rieng province on the Vietnamese border.
Construction of the expressway, the second in Cambodia, will begin in 2023 with completion due in late 2026 or early 2027.
Following the success of the Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway, the Ministry of Public Works and Transport and the China Road and Bridge Corporation signed a framework agreement on Nov. 10. The 138km expressway is projected to cost $1.6 billion, funded by the company.
It will connect China, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam through the expansion of ASEAN Highway Route 1 from Poi Pet to Phnom Penh and from Phnom Penh to Bavet,
It will join up with the Vietnamese expressway from Ho Chi Minh City to Moc Bai on the other side of the border.
Transport Minister Sun Chanthol said the expressway will have one lane for tourists and another for goods to avoid congestion.
Two more bridges on the way
The PM also revealed that construction of the Mekong River Bridge Project - Kratie province will being in January.
This bridge is needed to connect Kratie and Kampong Thom provinces, reducing the travel distance. Travellers now must cross Tbong Khmum and Kampong Cham to reach Kampong Thom.
The Phnom Penh to Arey Ksat Cambodia-Korean Friendship Bridge is also due to be built at a cost of $245 million. It will be a cable-stayed bridge in two sections.
The first section will cross the Tonle Sap river, starting from around the Night Market to the other side of Chroy Changvar. The second will cross the Mekong river, starting from the other side of Chroy Changvar towards Arey Ksat in Lvea Em district.
The Economic Development Cooperation Fund, a public Korean organization that supports infrastructure projects in developing countries, has granted a $1.5 billion loan to cover the 2022-2026 period.
“All of these are projects that need to boost economic growth so that we can develop the nation,” said Hun Sen.
