Cambodia, Japan renovate road to Thai border

A stretch of National Road 5 in Cambodia is renovated by the Japan International Cooperation Agency to restore the southern portion from Kandal to Pursat provinces. (Khmer Times photo)

PHNOM PENH: The Cambodian and Japanese governments have inked a financial cooperation agreement for the renovation of National Road 5 spanning 366 kilometres from Kandal province’s Prek Kdam area to Banteay Meanchey province’s Poipet town.

The project will be funded through soft loans provided by the Japanese government, the Khmer Times reported on Wednesday.

A joint statement from the Finance Ministry and Japan International Cooperation Agency said the project is divided into three sections.

The first section covers 84 kilometres from Battambang to Serey Sophorn towns. The second covers more than 146 kilometres from Thlea Ma’am to Battambang and from Serey Sophorn city to Poipet while the third section covers over 135 kilometres from Prek Kdam bridge to Pursat province’s Thlea Ma’am.

Poipet is opposite Aranyaprathet district of Sa Kaeo in Thailand.

At the signing ceremony on Tuesday, the Japanese government granted additional soft loan funding worth approximately US$270 million (8.85 billion baht) for the implementation of the National Road 5 Improvement Project II and Project III.

One of the signatories, Japanese ambassador Mikami Masahiro, said the project began in 2018 and has since been ongoing.

“This project will contribute to increasing the volume of traffic on National Road 5, which is a major route in Cambodia, and further promote economic development in the kingdom through trade promotion with neighbouring Thailand. It will also strengthen connectivity throughout the region, including Vietnam,” he said.

Finance Ministry spokesman Kim Sopheak could not be reached for comment.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said Japan is a good friend of Cambodia and has assisted in the development of almost every sector of the Kingdom, notably on infrastructure.

“The development on infrastructure has contributed to making Cambodia a prosperous society with good national roads for the people to travel on,” he said.



