Solid growth in nation’s ports

            Container in Cambodia.Traffic in them has witnessed solid growth recently. KT/Chor Sokunthea

The number of containers handled in the Sihanoukville Autonomous Port (SAP) the country’s only deep-sea port. Increased by 17 percent, to 633,099 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) from 2018 to 2019, according to a report by the Ministry of Public Works and Transport.

Phnom Penh Autonomous Port (PPAP) also saw a strong growth of 29 percent, handling a total of 275,000 TEUs, over the same period.

By tonnage, the SAP handled 6.533 million tons and PPAP handled 3.810 million tons with resulting in a remarkable growth of 22 percent in combined growth over the 2018 to 2019 period.

In 2019 the total tonnage handled via PPAP, 1.740 million tons were from oil imports and 2.070 million tons were from goods and products.

The report stated that of the total tonnage, 5.183 million tons were exported from SAP while 1.350 million tons were imported.

Meanwhile, exporting goods via PPAP was at1.345 million tons while importing was at 724,500 tons.

With the growth of container traffic via these ports, facilities including dockyards, container yards and roads to the ports are being built and expanded, Minister of Public Works and Transport, Sun Chanthol said, during as he presided over the Ministry’s annual meeting to review works in 2019 and set objectives for 2020.

“Sihanoukville Autonomous Port and Phnom Penh Autonomous Port are both growing…we are now planning and building new facilities. In Sihanoukville Autonomous Port we are building a deep port for containers and it is expected to finish in 2022 or 2023 to handle big ships that dock off at the port,” Mr Chanthol said.

The ministry is in the stage of conducting a study to expand the port complex in PPAP because current capacity is already full, Mr Chanthol said.

“Expanding ports and roads are because of more traffic from vehicles and more ships docking off the ports tht keep increasing…and this is because of the country’s economy continues to grow,” Mr Chanthol said.

Sihanouvkville Autonomous Port is located in Preah Sihanouk province, some 240 km south of Phnom Penh and Phnom Penh Autonomous Port is laid down along the Mekong River bank in Kandal province’s Kean Svay district, some 30 km east of Phnom Penh.

Gross income during the period for SAP’s was reported at $80.9 million, up 17 percent and PPAP’s income increased by 35 percent to $30.2 million. Source from Khmertimes.