- South Korea agreed to fund the construction of a new friendship in Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh.
- A new bridge located east of the city connects the Arey Ksat area to Phnom Penh.
- Cambodia’s Prime Minster, Samdech Techo Hun Sen, has selected the second option to separate the bridge into two parts.
- The first part is to cross the Tonle Sap river from the night market at the Old Market Park to the Chroy Changvar area and then the second bridge from the Chroy Changvar area to Arey Ksat.
- Two bridges will be built with high cable and no pilar to be able to set up water festivals as usual and even be a very attractive view for local and foreign tourists to come and visit.
PHNOM PENH: Cambodia’s Prime Minister, Samdech Techo Hun Sen, said that the South Korean government has agreed to assist in the construction of the Cambodia-Korea Friendship Bridge, which will connect Arey Ksat to the east of Phnom Penh city.
On the morning of March 23, 2022, Samdech Techo Hun Sen declared this at the inauguration ceremony of National Road No. 21, an approximately 64-kilometer-long road connecting Takhmao City’s roundabout to Kandal Province’s Cambodia-Vietnam International Gate.
The Prime Minister added: “I’d like to confirm that our Korean friends have agreed to the study and are prepared to give finance and grants for the bridge’s construction.” “We’ve studied the choices, and the options may be up to five or six,”
Since last time, PM Hun Sen has addressed the proposal with the former South Korean Prime Minister during his recent visit, and the former South Korean Prime Minister has pledged to look into helping the initiative. The PM expects that the new Prime Minister will remain committed to the initiative.
The first option is to build a bridge from the Chroy Changva area to Svay Chrum across the Mekong River. According to PM, it will be feasible to create traffic congestion on the Chroy Changvar bridge, which will cause problems.
The second option is to cross the Tonle Sap from the night market at the Old Market Park to the Chroy Changvar area, and then from the Chroy Changvar area to Arey Ksat. This means there will be two separate bridges in this project. This method may also be useful in alleviating traffic congestion on the Chroy Changvar bridge, and finally, the PM decided to go with the second option.
According to the prime minister, the bridge will be required to be built with high cable steel and no pillars because the bridge on the Tonle Sap side can be utilized for the Water Festival and it is not possible to create a bridge with pillars. The other Mekong River bridge part of the project will also require canal traffic as well.
This cable bridge, according to Samdech Techo, is not just for transportation, but also to attract national and international tourism. Samdech Hun Sen went on to say that this is one of the benefits of excellent diplomatic relations between Cambodia and South Korea, and that he is glad to have been the driving force behind the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.