Cambodia signs contract with Chinese firm to build 2nd expressway

PHNOM PENH, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia on Thursday granted a concessional contract to China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) to invest in constructing and operating the second expressway connecting its capital Phnom Penh with Svay Rieng province's Bavet City on the border with Vietnam.

The contract was signed in Phnom Penh by the Cambodian Minister of Public Works and Transport Sun Chanthol and Zhou Yong, general manager of the CRBC Cambodia Office.

Speaking at the ceremony, Chanthol said the Phnom Penh-Bavet Expressway will have a total length of 135.1 km and is estimated to cost 1.35 billion U.S. dollars.

He said a groundbreaking ceremony for the expressway will be held on June 7 and the construction is expected to be completed in four years.

"The CRBC will invest in the construction of the expressway in the form of BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) with a period of 50 years before the company transfers it to the government," Chanthol said.

The CRBC is also the developer of the first Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway, which has been put into use since October last year.