Tuesday, 25 September 2012
By Rann Reuy
Phnom Penh Post
Construction
of the US$100 million Kampot sea port had been further delayed by rain,
materials not being available and incomplete preparations, a local
investor revealed yesterday.
Vinh Huor, president of the Kampot
Special Economic Zone, (KSEZ) said of the delay: “We are preparing to be
better, and that may take some time. I am in Kampot preparing for the
works to be well organised.
“Rain is still heavy, so we cannot
work. I don’t know exactly when we’ll start, but when we are ready we’ll
be able to build the port correctly.”
In early May, Huor said
construction of the port would begin in September because the company
was constructing roads and filling in land for the port at a total cost
of $25 million.
A report published by the Post in August, 2009
said the overall KSEZ project was expected to cost at least $80 million
and the port itself would cost $18 million.
Hour said that once started, construction would last for 18 months to two years.
The port will have a water depth of 12 metres, allowing it to accommodate vessels of up to 20,000 tonnes.
“The main purpose of the port is to transport freight such as mined products and metals,” he said in May.
Sihanoukville
Port chief executive Luu Kim Chhum said that even though his own port
was not operating at full capacity, he believed the construction of the
Kampot port was a good thing for Cambodia’s economy.
He said the
volume of freight passing through the Sihanoukville port had reached 2.8
million tonnes a year, still short of its capacity of 3.5 million
tonnes.
Kim Chhum said he did not think Kampot would take business from Sihanoukville.
“There
will not be much competition between the ports, and Sihanoukville port
will still play a key role in transporting goods,” he said.
Kampot
governor Khoy Khun Huor has said that Kampot province will become a
multi-sector area after the port is finished, and the economic benefits
will be seen not only in Kampot but the whole nation.
To contact the reporter on this story: Rann Reuy at reuy.rann@phnompenhpost.com
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