Phnom Penh (FN), May 29 - The 107-kilometer stretch of railway that connects Battambang to Pursat has been temporarily resumed following the 12-year absence.

The inauguration ceremony was presided over by Minister of Transport Sun Chanthol on Tuesday at Battambang Station.

The 386-kilometer Phnom Penh-Poipet (Cambodia-Thai Border) railway link was completed in 1942 but was destroyed in the 1970s during the Cambodian civil war.

The 48-kilometer from Poipet to Sisophon was officially inaugurated on April 4, 2018 and the 65-kilometer from Sisophon-Battambang was launched on April 29, 2018.

The 134-kilometer railroad from Pursat to Kompong Speu is scheduled to be launched in July, whereas a 32-kilometer stretch of railroad from Kompong Speu to Phnom Penh will be completed by 2018.

The minister said that the restoration of the Phnom Penh-Poitpet costed about $96.6 million, of which, approximately $13 million is Asian Development Bank (ADB)’s budget, and $ 83.6 million is the government's budget.
=FRESH NEWS