New transport master plan to be ready next year

The Intermodal Transport Master Plan, covering the years 2021-2030, will be concluded by mid-2020, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

The plan, developed by a Chinese firm and meant to replace the Logistics Master Plan issued last year, aims to improve Cambodia’s internal and external connectivity.

It also seeks to reduce the cost of transportation, speed up the Kingdom’s regional and global integration and boost its competitiveness, according to a ministry statement released Tuesday.

A discussion on the current draft, led by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Aun Pornmonirath, was held on Tuesday. The discussion was joined by officials from the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, the Ministry of Environment, and the Council for the Development of Cambodia, among other agencies.

“The Intermodal Transport Master Plan has received financial support from China,” the ministry statement said. “China International Engineering Consulting Corporation (CIECC) has been working on it since mid-2018 and plans to conclude it by mid-2020.”

“The working group has concluded the draft and sent it to relevant ministries for consultation to make the document more concrete and comprehensive,” the ministry said.

The ministry said the strategy includes seven smaller master plans: intermodal transportation, land transportation, rail transportation, waterway transportation, marine transportation, air transportation, and logistics.

Mr Pornmonirath said the strategy will make public investment in transportation infrastructure more efficient.

“The Intermodal Transport Master Plan 2021-2030 is comprehensive, linking and aligning with other modes of transportation to meet the needs of Cambodians now and in the future,” he said.

The minister thanked the Chinese Working Group, led by She Xiangyun, director of the CIECC team that has been working on the strategy.

“The government will continue working with China International Engineering Consulting Corporation to give input to improve the master plan and make it more comprehensive,” he said.

According to the current draft, land transportation will remain a priority until 2030, but the focus must be on quality rather than quantity. The plan says Cambodia must develop and improve air and marine transportation, and must rehabilitate railway and waterway infrastructure.

The master plan is based on the ‘3.3.4.2’ formula.

“The first 3 refers to the three main transportation corridors – Phnom Penh-Poipet, Phnom Penh-Bavet, and Phnom Penh-Sihanouk province.

“The next 3 is the three-sub main transport corridors – the coastal area, the Northeast, and the North. The 4 are the four growth poles – Phnom Penh, Preah Sihanouk, Siem Reap, and Battambang.

“Finally, the 2 refers to the two connected poles, Svay Rieng-Bavet and Banteay Meanchey-Serey Sophon,” the ministry said in the statement.

Vasim Sorya, spokesman for the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, told Khmer Times that the current blueprint for the sector, the Logistics Master Plan issued in 2018, is meant to be used as a temporary tool as it does not address crucial topics like air and intermodal transportation.

“In fact, we have not yet completed any infrastructure under the Logistics Master Plan since it was launched in October 2018,” said Sin Chanthy, president of the Cambodia Freight Forwarders Association.

“We only did paperwork. Nothing concrete came out of the master plan,” Mr Chanthy noted.(This news came from Khmertimes.com)