Sihanoukville (FN), Dec. 22 – Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet stated that currently, the port in Cambodia has a limited capacity, accommodating only 18 per cent of local ships and incapable of receiving large vessels. However, upon the completion of the first deep-sea port, Cambodia will be equipped to handle large ships, significantly increasing its capacity to handle up to 93 per cent of containers.

The premier spoke on Friday (Dec. 22) during a groundbreaking ceremony for the expansion of Sihanoukville Autonomous Port.

"We are expanding further, and our current capacity is 11.5 meters. Only 18 per cent of the ships transporting goods to Cambodia, for example, out of the 100 ships, just 18 docked at the port. In some cases, goods are transported to other third countries first and later transferred by small ships to Cambodia. Therefore, large ships from countries like the United States or Europe avoid coming to us,” Samdech Thipadei underscored.

Samdech Thipadei underlined that the current need for expansion goes beyond adding more docks; it involves digging deeper. In this initial phase, we are excavating up to 14.5 meters, enabling 60,000-ton ships to enter. These vessels can carry 6,000 containers, and when these larger ships can reach us, by 2026, out of 100 ships, 93 will arrive, and the remaining seven will be outbound.

On the occasion, the premier further explained that when large ships have to dock elsewhere, it is a waste of time and money. So, if large ships do not come to us, we will lose business. Once the first deep-sea port is built, larger ships will be able to come directly to us and unload their goods without having to dock and pay elsewhere. This will result in more ships arriving and decrease in shipping costs.

Samdech Thipadei Hun Manet added that currently, the cost of transporting a container is almost USD 700. However, once the construction of the first phase of the deep-water port is completed, it is expected to reduce by more than USD 200 per container, making the transportation cost to Cambodia more affordable.
=FRESH NEWS