Promised sky train delayed over expense

The government’s sky train project from Phnom Penh city centre to the international airport has been delayed because the cost is higher than expected, according to an official from the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MPWT).
After the result of a feasibility study on the AGT sky train project, conducted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the government has decided to delay the project because the cost is far higher than expected.
“The results show that the project is too expensive than we planned for and we need more time to discuss internally on the issues to examine the possible project,” Vasim Sorya said he would not release the latest cost of the project.
However, Sorya said that so far the company has yet to publicly submit any result from the study.
“The government has asked for a new study about why we have given a green light for a Chinese company to study for monorail to see if it could be cheaper,” he said.
According to Sorya, one of the main challenges about the cost is the huge impact on people living around the project.

“We need to solve the compensation for affected people and this is one of the big problems and if we found that the impact is huge we also need to step back.

The first AGT development project in Phnom Penh has a total length of about 19 kilometers, of which 15 kilometers is the sky light rail and the remaining 4 kilometers is the subway. The departure station is located in the new market of Phnom Penh, via Charles de Gaulle Avenue, Monivong Avenue, Russia avenue leads to the "Veng Sreng" station in the Chom Chao area of National Road number 4. There are 20 stations in the middle, namely 18 light rail stations and 2 subway stations.

The AGT project is of great significance to the urban traffic in Phnom Penh. The opening of the rail line will greatly improve the traffic congestion problem in Phnom Penh, reduce traffic accidents, and improve the speed of citizens' transportation. The development of the areas along the track will also be upgraded, and the development and construction of infrastructure, commerce, and real estate may change the current commercial pattern of Phnom Penh

According to the original plan, the project will start construction this year to respond to the increase in the number of international tourists and pave the way for the Southeast Asian Games hosted by Cambodia as the host in 2023, but the project has been delayed. The biggest problem facing the project has always been to find a budget. The results of this survey may increase the difficulty in this aspect.