Cambodia Welcomes Help from All Countries for Infrastructure
groundbreaking ceremony of first ever expressway, linking Phnom Penh to Preah Sihanouk province in March 2019
Minister of Public Works Sun Chanthol said Cambodia welcomes help from all “friend countries” to assist its infrastructure development projects, citing the Kingdom does not discriminate against any countries who wish to help Cambodia.
He made the remarks yesterday during a Facebook live chat, replying to the question: “Why does Cambodia rely on China’s loans for infrastructure development?”
Chanthol said that China has provided nearly $3 billion in concessional loans to Cambodia to build roads and bridges, making China the biggest provider of loans to Cambodia in the infrastructure development sector.
Cambodia also received different forms of aid and loans from other countries including Japan, South Korea, Vietnam and Thailand as well as the Asia Development Bank and World Bank, he said.
“China has provided loans to Cambodia more than other countries have provided to Cambodia. The loans from China have been used in the right direction and for the right goal because to make the country’s economy grow, it has to have a good transportation system,” said Chanthol.
“Cambodia doesn’t discriminate between budget sources. If any friend countries want to help, we will receive it and have never rejected the sources from this country or from that country,” Chanthol said. “Any friend country who wants to help and provide timely loans, we will receive it.”
He added that some countries have many procedures to provide loans or assistance.
The development of physical infrastructure – roads and bridges across the country – has facilitated the travel of people and transport of agricultural products, boosting the country’s economic growth, he said.
According to Chanthol, concessional loans from China have been used to build roads such as National Roads 3, 58, 8, 9, 10, 71C, and upcoming road improvement projects on National Roads 33, 41 and 31.
The loan from Thailand was to build Road 48 and a bridge at the border of Banteay Meanchey province while a loan from Vietnam was used to build a road in Ratanakiri province.
In his remarks at the 26th virtual International Conference on “The Future of Asia” under the theme: “Shaping the Post-Covid Era: Asia’s Role in the Global Recovery” on May 20, Prime Minister Hun Sen, responded to the claims of Cambodia’s over-reliance on China.
“If I don’t rely on China, who will I rely on? China’s infrastructure investment is indispensable to Cambodia’s economic growth,” Mr Hun Sen said.
The government, however, aims to eliminate loans from outside, by looking to raise funds from locals through government bonds.
The Ministry of Economy is accelerating the draft of procedures to manage the government bond issuance.
Khmer Times
