The Australian government has pledged to help Cambodia update engineering standards, which have defined the country’s infrastructure for the last 20 years.
In a statement posted on its Facebook page on Friday, the Australian Embassy in Phnom Penh said that in a meeting with Ministry of Public Works and Transport minister Sun Chanthol this week, Ambassador Pablo Kang agreed to expand Australian assistance in order to update Cambodia’s engineering standards, its transition to electric vehicles, and the development of wastewater strategies.
“Australia will now continue our longstanding quality infrastructure partnership by helping Cambodia to update those standards to ensure climate resilience and incorporate recent technologies through our new regional Partnerships for Infrastructure – P4I – program,” said the embassy.
According to the ministry, in the meeting, Chanthol asked the Australian government to update the technical standards for building roads and bridges, to adapt to new technology and the effects of climate change.
The ministry added that Chanthol also discussed the master plan that his ministry has conceived to build a multirole transport system connected to all countries in the region. To achieve this goal, 330 projects have been created. They are to be implemented within 10 years, at the cost of $48 billion.
In addition, the minister told the ambassador that currently, the ministry is implementing a project to build a sea port in Dang Tong district, Koh Kong province using the national budget. Other projects to build sea ports in Kampot and Kep provinces are also being implemented.
“In the meeting, Minister Chanthol thanked the Australian government for providing support to Cambodia to boost its physical infrastructure development,” said the ministry.
In response, Ambassador Kang promised to give positive answer in the near future. Moreover, he strongly appreciated the development of green transport and the increase in strong roading infrastructure in Cambodia.
This article was first published in Khmer Times. All contents and images are copyright to their respective owners and sources.
