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Cambodia broke ground for the construction of the kingdom's second largest new container terminal of Phnom Penh Autonomous Port in order to meet the growing demands of shipments, reported Xinhua.
The ground-breaking ceremony was presided over by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Pan Guangxue.
According to the master plan, the 10-hectare terminal is being constructed by the China-based Shanghai Construction (Group) General Co with a soft loan of US$28.2 million provided by the Chinese side. It will take 30 months to be completed.
The terminal will have a total capacity of 120,000 TEUs per year. It is located along the Mekong River in Kean Svay district, about 30 kilometres east of Phnom Penh.
The terminal will not only connect Phnom Penh Autonomous Port to Vietnam's Cai Map port, but also help to ship goods directly to Singapore, Malaysia, and China's Hong Kong and Shanghai, as well as other neighboring countries and regions without ship transfer, the prime minister said.
"In the coming years, Cambodia will have more goods for export, besides garment exports, we will have agricultural products and we have already opened market with China on rice, cassava and other products, so it will facilitate Cambodia's exports to China and other countries," said Hun Sen.
The new terminal will add more capacity to its existing Phnom Penh Autonomous Port of only 80,000 TEUs, said Hun Sen.
Pan Guangxue said that the construction of the terminal is a new symbol of closer cooperation between the two countries.
Cargonews Asia
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