Cambodia: Logistics centre planned for capital

• Jan 15, 2019

Aiming to reduce freight costs in the country, the Ministry of Public Works And Transport is considering building a logistics centre in Phnom Penh to make multimodal transportation more seamless.

The project, now being reviewed by the Ministry of Public Works in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank, seeks to enhance connectivity between roads, waterways, and railroads.

Pich Chhieng, director of the general directorate of logistics, said the project will reduce logistics costs in Cambodia, adding that costs are high because the different transportation methods are not well integrated.

“From studies and reports, we have learnt that transportation from one port to another is not efficient. We believe the situation could be improved by establishing a logistics complex in the capital,” Mr Chhieng said.

“We can reduce logistics costs by improving railroad and waterway transportation. Currently, we rely too heavily on roads,” Mr Chhieng said.

“Our high logistics costs negatively affect the national economy, making our products less competitive. This translates into lower investment in the sector, which, in turns, leads to unemployment,” Mr Chhieng said. “Reducing logistics costs is important because it helps national economic growth.”

The centre will be built northwest of Phnom Penh, on a 100-hectare plot located between National Road No 3 and National Road No 4, according to Va Simsorya, spokesman at the ministry.

“The plan is to build this complex near national roads to enhance its connectivity. We want to build the complex in an area that is also near waterways,” Mr Simsorya said.

The project will be a public-private partnership, he added.

Sin Chanthy, president of Cambodia Freight Forwarders Association, applauded the project.

“We believe the complex has the potential to improve the logistics sector. We hope it will serve as a place where all transportation-related documents can be processed, thus saving companies time,” Mr Chanthy said.

Source: https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50568848/logistics-centre-planned-for-capital/