Highways&Bridges:To Hun Sen Heaven

[GWR]

This comes at a time when Cambodia and Laos are already talking about improving their cross-border road between Stung Treng and Champassack provinces respectively:


Saturday the 05th of April 2008
The Cambodia-China Friendship Bridge
Written by Tracey Shelton
Friday, 04 April 2008
Tracey Shelton

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/images/stories/news/national/Issue17-7/12-town-and-around-Use.jpg
[Photo: The Phnom Penh Post]

The Cambodia-China Friendship Bridge, funded by China, across the Sekong River in Stung Treng province is completed and ready for use. Motorists can now drive from Phnom Penh to the Lao border without having to use a ferry.
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=305&Itemid=52

[GWR]

Sunday, June 08, 2008
Russian company builds bridge for Cambodian island resort

SIHANOUKVILLE, Cambodia, June 7 (Xinhua) -- The Koh Puos Cambodia Investment Group, a branch of Vironia Enterprises Limited from Russia, has invested 20 million euro (about 31.5 million U.S. dollars) to build a 900-meter bridge from the beach of Sihanoukville to Koh Puos (Snake) Island Resort, officials said here on Saturday.

This concrete bridge is one of the main development projects of Koh Puos Island Resort of the Sihanoukville city, Sun Chanthol, Cambodian Minister of Public Works and Transportation, said at the bridge groundbreaking ceremony.

The construction of the bridge will be finished by construction contractor Sinohydro of China in late 2010, he said.

The bridge will be built 32 meters over the sea level which could allow the container cargo ships to transport in and out of the sea port, he said, adding that the bridge will play a key role in connecting with other islands.

The developers have invested 300 million euro (about 472.7 million U.S. dollars) in the Koh Puos (Snake) Island to develop it into an international standard resort with hotels, trade center, accommodation and tourism center, he added.

The development of Koh Puos Island will contribute to economic growth and provide job opportunities for local people, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said at ceremony.

"We also welcome more investors from Russia and other countries to develop our islands in the sea for economic development," he added.
http://ki-media.blogspot.com/2008/06/russian-company-builds-bridge-for.html

But!!!:

Sunday, June 08, 2008
Controversial Russian company starts developing resort on Cambodian island
Saturday, June 7, 2008
The Associated Press

SIHANOUKVILLE, Cambodia: A Russian company broke ground Saturday on a US$472 million island resort project along Cambodia's southwest coast, despite one of its partners being jailed in the country for alleged sex crimes.

Prime Minister Hun Sen presided over a ceremony marking the start of work on a 2,970-foot (900-meter) bridge that will link Koh Puos — Snake Island — with a coastal beach in the port city of Sihanoukville.

Cambodia's government signed a deal with Koh Puos Investment Group Ltd. in 2006 that allows it to develop and manage resorts on the island for 99 years.

The company is run by a group of Russian businessmen, according to its Web site.

Alexey Chepa, an executive with the company, said at the groundbreaking ceremony that the total project represented a US$472 million investment, a substantial increase from the US$300 million originally announced in 2006. He did not give details of the project but said the investment would create up to 25,000 jobs.

One of the group's partners, Alexander Trofimov, was sentenced in March by a Cambodian court to 13 years in prison on charges of sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl.

Trofimov was arrested last October over allegations that he had abused as many as 19 girls since 2005, but was charged only in the case of the 14-year-old. He has denied the accusation.

Cambodian Transport Minister Sun Chanthol said the bridge will cost about US$31.3 million and be completed at the end of 2010.

He said it will help develop Koh Puos "into a world-class resort."

Son Chhay, an opposition lawmaker, criticized the government for pressing ahead with the project instead of taking time to investigate the company's background after one of its partners was jailed.

"The government must be more open on how they struck the deal with the Russians," said Son Chhay, of the opposition Sam Rainsy Party.

The new resort is part of impoverished Cambodia's efforts to promote the country's beaches as a new tourist destination and a key source of cash, following the success it has had in drawing visitors to its famed Angkor temples.

Sihanoukville is about 115 miles (185 kilometers) southwest of the capital, Phnom Penh.
http://ki-media.blogspot.com/2008/06/controversial-russian-company-starts.html

[GWR]

Monday, June 09, 2008
Concerns linger as Russian island development begins

http://bp2.blogger.com/_hqgVFA7RYE4/SEy0EXwPCWI/AAAAAAAAAoc/m5jYBM_ZMEI/s400/KPIG+development+%28small%29.jpg
[Photo: KI Media - Artist rendering of the development on Koh Puos Island (Drawing by KPIG)]

Monday, 09 June 2008
Neth Pheaktra
The Mekong Times

A Russian company held a ground-breaking ceremony Saturday for a US$300 million island resort project off Cambodia’s southwest coast, despite one of its partners now being in jail for sex crimes. Political opposition has alleged that the government was involved in “serious corruption” during the bidding process of the island purchase.

Prime Minister Hun Sen presided over the ceremony marking the start of work on a 900 meter bridge that will link Koh Puos (Snake Island) with a coastal beach in Sihanoukville. Koh Puos Investment Group (KPIG) has a contract to develop and manage resorts on the island for 99 years.

At the ceremony, Prime Minister Hun Sen said he considered Sihanoukville a “multi-pole economy including tourism, ports and Special Economic Zones.” The premier called the area the “dragon’s head” of Cambodia’s economic growth, inviting other investors to develop Cambodian islands.

Sun Chanthol, minister of public works and transport, said the Koh Puos Bridge – built 32 meters above the ocean to allow cargo ships to pass underneath – will “play a key role in the transport system linking Sihanoukville and other areas to Koh Puos, serving the tourism sector and increasing jobs.”

The bridge will cost about US$31.3 million and be completed at the end of 2010, he added, saying it will help develop Koh Puos “into a world-class resort.”

Chepa Alexey, president of KPIG, said 20,000-25,000 jobs would be created by the project.

However, dark rumors surround KPIG, run by a group of Russian businessmen, according to its website.

One of the group’s partners, Alexander Trofimov, was sentenced in March by a Cambodian court to 13 years in prison on charges of sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl.

Trofimov was arrested last October over allegations that he had abused as many as 19 girls since 2005, but was charged only in the case of the 14-year-old. He has protested his innocence.

Opposition Sam Rainsy Party parliamentarian Son Chhay alleged that island developments have been granted to firms with no experience or resources for development through non-transparent bidding. He requested the government should require development plans before granting permission to any firm to invest.

However, Deputy Prime Minister Sok An rebutted Son Chhay’s allegations in a lengthy letter. “A case of lease is different from that of sale,” he wrote. “Usually, leasing does not involve bidding. It is necessary to carefully select investors, because some islands are located near borders.”

Prime Minister Hun Sen stressed at the groundbreaking ceremony that Cambodia does not sell islands, echoing Sok An’s clarification of the difference between sale and lease. “Cambodia does not sell islands but allows investment concession like in other countries … such as for islands in Thailand and Malaysia,” he said.

Son Chhay was unconvinced, alleging that the leasing process was also dubious. “The clarification is clearly indicative of serious corruption in leasing the islands to foreigners,” he said. “We are still concerned about investment in islands if there is no clear information about the [development] plans and no environmental impact assessment.”

http://ki-media.blogspot.com/2008/06/concerns-linger-as-russian-island.html

[GWR]

Somehow the artist managed to make this tropical island setting look as about appealing as a wet late-autumn Wednesday in Glasgow::p

http://ki-media.blogspot.com/2008/06/concerns-linger-as-russian-island.html

Friday the 13th of June 2008
Investors unveil $470 million plan for Koh Puos P
Written by Kay Kimsong
Thursday, 12 June 2008

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/images/stories/news/national/snake-island-bridge-570.jpg
[Photo: The Phnom Penh Post - An artist rendering of the Koh Puos Bridge, which will stand 32 meters above sea level and cost an estimated $31 million to complete.

Russian investors have unveiled a $470 million plan for an international resort on the island of Koh Puos, including a $31 million bridge linking the island to the mainland.

Prime Minister Hun Sen presided over a ceremony at Sihanoukville on June 7 to mark the start of work on the bridge, being built by Koh Puos Cambodia Investment Group Ltd. and its partners, Vironia Enterprises Ltd., a European company, and Chinese construction giant Sinohydro Corp.

Work on the 900-meter bridge, which stretches from Sihanoukville's Hawaii Beach to Koh Puos island, is due for completion in 2010.

Speaking at the ceremony Hun Sen said that successful development of the new resort depended on completion of the bridge, which would make it easier to transport workers and equipment to the project site.

The Prime Minister said the project would create up to 25,000 jobs.

He gave assurances the government had not sold the island to the Russian investment group.

"Did we sell this island to foreigners? No. This development does not mean that Khmer have sold an island to a Russian company," Hun Sen said.

"Cambodia does not sell its islands, but we do provide investment concessions, as do other countries," he said, adding that the land would revert to government ownership after the 99-year lease granted to the developers had expired.

Koh Puos Investment Group said in a statement that the project's objectives are to create a world-class resort, which will include villas, spas and recreational facilities.

“Investors see that Cambodia is a country of historical and ancient temples, fantastic beaches and people who are traditionally kind, warmly welcoming, proud and hard working,” Chepa Alexey, a shareholder representative of the investor group, said at the ceremony.

The project has been welcomed by Sihanoukville Governor Say Hak, who said it would contribute significantly to the area's development as a tourist attraction.

"Tourism is the number-one source of income for my municipality," Hak said.

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/Online-Edition/Investors-unveil-$470-million-plan-for-Koh-Puos.html

[GWR]

http://phnompenhpost.com/images/stories/roads-large.gif
[Map: Phnom Penh Post]


Friday the 04th of July 2008
Paving the way
Written by Hor Hab
Thursday, 03 July 2008

Cambodia will spend at least $2.5 billion to implement a 12-year national road reconstruction program, said Minister of Public Works and Transport Sun Chanthol.

Known as the Road Asset Management Project (RAMP), the work is expected to generate substantial benefit to the nation, according to a report from the ministry’s General Department of Public Works.

Implemented in three phases, RAMP will connect Cambodia to the region via ASEAN Highway 1, which connects Ho Chi Minh City to Bangkok via Phnom Penh, and ASEAN Highway 11, which stretches from Sihanoukville north into Laos.

The connections will make Cambodia part of 23 routes involving over 38,000 kilometers of ASEAN highways.

“These projects will make it possible for local people to get access to all kinds of social services, markets for agricultural produce and nonagricultural employment opportunities,” said Ouk Nida, the senior project implementation officer for infrastructure at the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Ouk Nida said the improved network would benefit people’s living conditions by reducing transportation costs and times as well as enabling safer and more economical transportation between commercial and residential areas.

Improving the nation’s roads should remain a top priority of the government, agreed Cambodian Economic Association president Chan Sophal.

“Road construction and rehabilitation is vital for the transport of both passengers and goods,” said Chan Sophal.

Cambodia’s development partners, including the ABD, the World Bank (WB) and development agencies from China, Japan and South Korea, have already made grants and loans for work on National Roads 1, 3, 6A, 7, 8, 33, and 78, noted a World Bank report.

“Cambodia’s road network measures approximately 38,257 kilometers, including 4,757 kilometers of national roads and 5,700 kilometers of provincial roads under the responsibility of the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, and 27,800 kilometers of tertiary roads under the responsibility of the Ministry of Rural Development,” said the report.

The road network was still in a developmental stage, and most roads were in poor condition, with the tarmac hammered by old and dilapidated trucks. Motorbikes and even animal-drawn carts were being used to carry goods in some parts of the country.

“About 90% of other roads are still in bad condition, even though the primary national road network has been improved,” said Ouk Nida, who noted that ADB has already funded repair of National Roads 5, 6, 33, 56, and 68.

ADB has spent more than $250 million in Cambodia since 1993. Its work includes seven major road repair projects as well as several drainage and flood-control schemes across Cambodia, he said.

Between 1992 and 2007 Japan provided more than $1.3 billion in financial assistance in the form of bilateral grants and extended a $182 million loan for the rehabilitation and development of the Cambodian road system, according to a Japanese report issued in May.

“The government of Japan has provided approximately US$250 million in grant aid for road rehabilitation and construction, whereas about US$150 million has gone to bridge construction and rehabilitation,” according to a statement from the Japanese embassy.

South Korean Ambassador to Cambodia Shin Hyun Suk noted in May, meanwhile, that “South Korea has provided another $37 million, adding to the $17 million in Economic Development Cooperation Fund loans to the Cambodian government to finish the National Road 3 rehabilitation project.”

While the World Bank said the objective of RAMP was to ensure continued effective use of the rehabilitated national and provincial road network in support of Cambodian economic development, Cambodian Economic Association president Chan Sophal worried that “Cambodia will lose if the roads are low in quality or lack maintenance because the government has borrowed from other countries, and most of the projects have been handled by foreign companies, giving few local companies experience in big projects.”

RAMP includes a plan for maintenance and repair of roads built or improved under the project, according to the General Department of Public Works report.

The Ministry of Public Works and Transport estimated that there were about 670,000 motorbikes and 197,000 automobiles plying the nation’s roads at the end of 2007, including, according to World Bank estimates, 326,310 motorbikes, 102, 810 lighter vehicles and 17,880 heavy trucks that were not registered.
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2008070313650/Online-Edition/Paving-the-way.html