Thailand
Cambodia: Transport firms ‘face bankruptcy if pandemic worsens’
The Sihanoukville Autonomous Port saw revenue rise 14 percent in the first half of the year from the same period in 2020, to more than $44 million.
The volume of goods was up nearly 5 percent to more than 3.5 million tonnes. Imports rose more than 5 percent to 2.6 million tonnes. Exports rose 4 percent to exceed 830,000 tonnes. Shipments from Cambodia included fabric, clothing, footwear, rice, machinery, processed wood and cigarettes.
There was an 18 percent jump in the number of containers passing through the port to 2.3 million tonnes. Non-container product rose by more than 5 percent to just over 5 million tonnes. Non-container transport includes machinery, metals and oil.
However, President of the Logistics Association of Cambodia Sin Chanthy warned more than 60 percent of companies are seeing falling revenue and another 30 percent are going bankrupt or likely to go out of business unless the situation improves.
The Coronavirus crisis has hit the transport and logistics sector but transportation was still active in the first six months of 2021. The Okhna said it was a good sign that imports and exports through Sihanoukville Port have increased, showing that the Logistics Association is ready to continue its mission to deliver goods on time despite the sharp rise in Covid cases.
The first Covid-19 case was detected in Cambodia in late January in Preah Sihanouk province. The number of confirmed cases has surged to nearly 62,000 with more than 53,000 people recovered and 925 deaths.
The government said in May it planned to expand operations at the Sihanoukville Autonomous Port and establish an electronic data interchange system that would speed up shipping procedures and reduce shipping costs.
A new container port with a depth of 14.5 metres and 350 metres long is expected to be completed by early 2023 and will be able to accommodate container vessels with capacities of up to 60,000 tonnes, increasing the amount of business that can be conducted.
Source: https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50893244/transport-firms-face-bankruptcy-if-pandemic-worsens/