The Mirror, Vol. 14, No. 679
“According to the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, the Toll Royal Railway company [TRR] plans to spend US$81 million to bring in new trains to Cambodia.
“It is part of the project to improve the Cambodian railways and it will cost millions of dollars. It is an important transportation system for Cambodia.
“A Secretary of State of the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, Mr. Toch Chankosal, said, ‘The company plans to buy 11 locomotives, 111 railroad cars, and other parts of trains, in order to start operations at the end of this year or early next year.’
“He added that TRR is preparing the necessary documents to be submitted to the Council for the Development of Cambodia to ask for permission for the import of trains. However, he did not tell from which countries those trains will be bought. He said the repairing of the Cambodian railroad system continues, but the company expects that the presently available trains would not be enough.
“He said, ‘In fact, we have many locomotives that can be repaired, but they are still not enough so we need to import more.’
“The Senior Country Economist, Cambodia Resident Mission, of the Asian Development Bank [ADB], Mr. Peter Brimble, said that the important reason for the improvement of the Cambodian railroad system, partly funded by ADB, is to develop the transportation system to be cost effective. He said, ‘The cost of the transportation of agricultural products is a key factor, and if you do not have efficient transportation means, there will be difficulties with the export of those products. Also, I think the basic idea behind the project is relating to cost efficiency.’
“Mr. Toch Chankosal said that this is the first step to facilitate heavy-weight transport that can also help to reduce road destruction.
“ADB and AusAID has provided US$141 million aid to TRR to repair rail tracks of 254 kilometer from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville, and another line of about 388 kilometer from Phnom Penh to Poipet, as well as the third line of about 48 kilometer from Poipet to Sisophon [Banteay Meanchey].
“Mr. Brimble said that ADB has no plan to provide more aid for the construction of railroads in Cambodia in the future, but he thinks that the repair of the railroad to the Sihanoukville port in Sihanoukville will receive encouragement.
“The Chief Executive Officer of TRR, Mr. David Kerr, declined to comment on the information about the import of new trains, while an ADB senior economist, Mr. Peter Broch, said that he cannot give figures provided by the Ministry of Public Transport and Works regarding the transportation.
“TRR belongs to the Toll Holdings company of Australia that holds 55% of the shares, while the rest of 45% is controlled by the Royal Group of Oknha Kith Meng. Last year, these collaborative companies receive a 30 years concession to operate the railway network in Cambodia.” Phnom Penh Post [Khmer Edition], Vol.1, #246, 27.8.2010
This article was first published by The Mirror, Vol. 14, No. 679 - Friday, 27.8.2010
Have a look at the last editorial - you can access it directly from the main page of The Mirror.
Norbert Klein is the Editor of The Mirror – The Mirror is a daily comprehensive summary and translation of the major Khmer language press - More about The Mirror