WorldBridge Industrial Development’s i4.0 SME Cluster project officially broke ground on Friday, complete with a ceremony to mark the occasion.
The fourth industrial revolution-focused cluster is located in Takhmao city in Kandal province, opposite an affordable housing project and near the new planned Phnom Penh International Airport and Ring Road 3. It is seen as an innovative and strategic solution for SMEs and industrial development in Cambodia.
Unlike special economic zones, industrial parks or traditional SME clusters, the i4.0 SME Cluster is an innovative solution which supports government objectives under the Industrial Development Policy for 2015-2025 and will serve as a vehicle in which government policies supporting skills-based employment, SME development, agro-processing expansion and industrial diversification are more easily facilitated.
Most importantly, it is designed to aid the building of a better future for SMEs, entrepreneurs, the information communications technology (ICT) sector and manufacturing investment in the Kingdom by bringing those players together to form complete value chains.
Sear Rithy, chairman of the WorldBridge Group, said that the completion of the i4.0 SME Cluster will involve investment of between $28 to $30 million, excluding the price of the land. He added that the area of the SME cluster will take up six hectares of land, however, the company will expand if demand grows.
“The construction of the WorldBridge i4.0 SME Cluster project will take eight months, and [it] is scheduled to be complete by the end of 2021,” Rithy added.
He said that the purpose of establishing the project is to promote and boost the competitive ability of SMEs in terms of production, business, and services [so] they can link with each other in the cluster.
Rithy noted that there are seven sections in the clusters. These include a service centre, which will boast a commercial centre, a training facility, a food court, a medical centre, a conference hall, and office space, as well as a basic SME factory set (complete with water supply, office space, showroom, logistics areas), both supported by an infrastructure grid (hybrid power supply, energy management system, building management system, treated water supply, industrial and domestic waste collection, wastewater treatment plant, firefighting and other emergency equipment).
In addition, the cluster will include a logistics and services centre that will provide domestic transport, import-export clearance, on-site customs, cold storage packaging and value-added services.
The cluster will also include business amenities, worker amenities and other supporting services, such as back-house services (accounting, human resources, marketing and information technology), input pre-processing, financial advisory and loan services among others.
The United Nations Development Programme Cambodia Resident Representative Nick Beresford said the SME sector plays a key role in driving the Cambodian economy, contributing 58 percent to gross domestic product and 70 percent of total employment.
He added that sustainable SME development is essential for resilient and inclusive growth.
“This is about jobs and growth – both of which we need now more than ever as we cope with the pandemic’s impact on the Kingdom’s economy and we look to a recovery.” Beresford added that the United Nations, and the UNDP in particular, are strongly supportive of WorldBridge’s work in this area.
“With the facilities and support this new SME cluster can offer, [the i4.0 project gives] businesses a chance to improve their productivity and competitiveness. The SME Park will help provide the support they need in adopting new digital technologies, and for early adoption of fourth industrial revolution solutions,” he added.
Senior Minister and Minister of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation Cham Prasidh said the SMEs that choose to locate in the cluster will produce a high quality and standard of products.
He added that those products that come from the cluster will not be pirated or copies and that producers will register intellectual property (IP) in the country to ensure that the quality ([and integrity] of Cambodian products are aligned with [global] quality standards for export to the international market.
Prasidh also urged that SMEs in Cambodia embrace new technologies in their production process.
“Cambodia’s SMEs lag behind [those in] other countries in the region, in terms of [the level of] technology [used] in production, [so] when we apply technology, we must adopt the latest technology. We will not [utilise outdated] technology,” he added.
Prasidh also stressed that, because digital transformation is so [all-encompassing] and [is constantly] evolving, failing to maintain pace with the evolution of the global market, [will result in] our products not being able to compete and [we will have difficulty] finding customers to buy our products.
He added that the establishing of the WorldBridge i4.0 SME Cluster project is very important because it is a place where the government can support SMEs in terms of having sufficient market access, capital and training in various skills, logistics and transportation and energy efficiency, as well helping with other forms of support.
This article was first published in Khmer Times. All contents and images are copyright to their respective owners and sources.
