Posted: 12/08/2006 11:22 pm Post subject: ข่าวรถไฟกัมพูชา
Decrepit railways' rehabilitation on track By Cheang Sokha
Phnom Penh Post, Issue 15 / 16, August 11 - 24, 2006
The dilapidated railways network connecting Phnom Penh to Sisophon and
Sihanoukville will be repaired in early 2007, a senior railway official has told the Post.
Sokhom Pheakavanmony, general director of Cambodian Railways, said that
the two rail lines will begin to be rehabilitated next year and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide loans for the project - including the long-destroyed 48 km from Sisophon to Poipet town at the Thai border.
"It's time to repair the railways. If not, the train system will die -
you can see trains derailing every week" said Yin Bunna, director of
the railway rehabilitation project for the Ministry of Public Works and
Transport (MPWT). "If we receive money to repair on time, we can save
the life of the Cambodian railway."
Bunna said the renovation may take roughly three years because the
tracks are in serious disrepair.
The project, devised by a joint working group of Cambodian and ADB
specialists, will cost approximately $67 million, including over $10 million for the 48 km from Sisophon to Poipet.
Peter Broch, ADB transport project economist in Manila, said the ADB
has not approved a loan yet, but the proposed project will be presented
for approval by the ADB's board in November. If approved, the loan will
be concessionaire, financed by ADB's Asian Development Fund.
"We are currently preparing the feasibility study for the railway
project," Broch said, "We expect to finish rehabilitation of the
railway by the end of 2009, and we will ensure that the railway track is safe."
Broch said the ADB will provide a $42 million loan for the repair of
the railway. However, many people have settled on the railway's land
around Poipet and need to be relocated to enable reconstruction of the
railway connection to Thailand.
" With this amount of money the train speed will run up to 50 km per hour," Bunna said.
The Secretary of State for the MPWT, Uk Chan, said the government will
contribute 10 percent of the overall budget for the railway project.
"Most of the tracks, wooden supports and screws need to be changed,"
Chan said, "About 60 percent of all construction equipment is imported from Thailand. So, if we can transport this freight by train, it will save the roads from the damage of overloaded trucks."
Chan said 70 percent of Cambodian railway lines will need to be
replaced. Most of the wooden supports, or sleepers, are at least 80 years old and have never been maintained or replaced.
On July 25, a train from Sihanoukville on the southern line derailed in
Kampot province, spilling tons of fuel belonging to tycoon Sok Kong of Sokimex. A day later, a train from Sisophon on the northern line also derailed and overturned two freight cars of cement. No one was injured in the accidents, authorities reported.
The 385 km railroad from Sisophon, the provincial capital of Banteay
Meanchey, to Phnom Penh was built between 1929 and 1941, and the 264km
from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville between 1960 and 1969.
Bunna said many wooden sleepers are broken and many metal spikes have
been stolen.
Suy San, general inspector at MPWT, said the Malaysian government has
donated metal ties for the 48 km railroad from Sisophon to Poipet, which was destroyed during the Khmer Rouge time.
"We have to fix our railroad because it runs very slowly, only 17 km per hour," said San. "Travelers are fearful of traveling by train because it is slow and they think it's not secure. The train transports only private goods at the moment."
The government is also seeking $480 million for building part of a new
ASEAN railroad from Kunming, China, to Loc Ninh, Vietnam. Cambodia's
255 km missing link would be from Bak Deung in Kampong Chhnang province
through Phnom Penh to Snuol in Kampong Cham province and from there to Loc Ninh.
" The government has asked China for funding for the railroad and they
promised to support the project," Pheakavanmony said, " Now we are
waiting for the Cambodian and Vietnam partners to demarcate the
border."
The government is also seeking $480 million for building part of a new
ASEAN railroad from Kunming, China, to Loc Ninh, Vietnam. Cambodia's
255 km missing link would be from Bak Deung in Kampong Chhnang province
through Phnom Penh to Snuol in Kampong Cham province and from there to Loc Ninh.
Posted: 11/03/2007 10:37 am Post subject: ธนาคารเอดีบีอนุมัติเงินกู้ 42 ล้าน US$ ให้เขมรซ่อมทางรถไฟ
ADB approves 42 mln USD of loan to restore railway for Cambodia Source: Xinhua
UPDATED: 13:57, March 07, 2007
The Asian Development Bank ( ADB ) has approved 42 million U.S. dollars of loan for Cambodia to restore its railway, local media said on Wednesday.
This is part of the efforts to complete the ASEAN ( the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ) railway network which also connects China, said daily newspaper the Rasmey Kampuchea.
The agreement of providing the loan was signed by Minister of Finance and Economy Keat Chhon and C. Lawrence Greenwood, vice- president of ADB here on Monday.
The loan will be spent on restoring 254 km of railway road from Phnom Penh to seaport city Sihanoukville and also on 383 km of railway from Phnom Penh to Poipet town of Banteay Mean Chey province next to the border with Thailand, the paper quoted Keat Chhon as saying.
The whole budget for restoring railway is worth about 73 million U.S. dollars, with 42 million from ADB, 13 million from the OPEC (the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) Fund, 2.8 million as grant aid from Malaysia and the rest 15.2 million from the Cambodian government, he added.
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