Cambodia is strengthening its transport infrastructure. At present, Cambodia is promoting the construction of expressways centered on Phnom Penh, forming three high-speed arteries, including Jingang, Jinba and Cambo. In terms of railway construction, on the basis of resuming the operation of the Phnom Penh-Poipet railway, it is planned to invest 4 billion US dollars to upgrade the railway and improve the transportation capacity. More importantly, China and Cambodia have signed a memorandum of understanding on railway cooperation, forming a normalized cooperation mechanism. In addition, in the face of Vietnam's opposition, Cambodia has vigorously promoted the "Dechong Funan Canal" project, and also invited Chinese companies to participate!
The Duc Chong-Phu Nam Canal is a key piece of infrastructure in Cambodia. The canal is located in the southwest of Cambodia, with a total length of about 180 kilometers, in accordance with the standard of 100 meters wide and 5.4 meters deep to build a 3,000-ton waterway, the main project includes 3 canal traffic navigation stations, 11 bridges across the river, with a total investment of about 1.7 billion US dollars (about 12.3 billion yuan), and the cost per kilometer is about 68 million yuan. It is reported that the preliminary work of the canal has been carried out for 26 months, and it is expected to start construction in 2024, with a construction period of 4 years, and is expected to be completed and opened to navigation in 2028.
It is reported that the Dechong-Funan Canal is not a completely new waterway, but is known as an "inland river dredging" project. After the completion and opening of the canal, it will form a transportation route from the capital Phnom Penh to the Gulf of Thailand, and will also connect the country's largest lakes, Tonle Sap Lake, Tonli Basak River and Mekong River, passing through four important provinces including Kandal, Takeo, Kamput and Kep, covering a population of more than 1.6 million (accounting for about 10% of the country's total population). The key is that after the canal is completed and opened to navigation, the situation that Cambodia's cargo exports are restricted by Vietnam will be greatly alleviated!
Vietnam, for its part, has expressed "strong interest" in the Duc Chong-Phu Nam Canal. Judging from the relevant statements, the Vietnamese government has not publicly expressed its opposition to the construction of the canal, but the relevant "experts" and "scholars" have publicly expressed their opposition and clarified their opposition. For example, in Vietnam's Can Tho city (an important city in the Mekong Delta), a meeting held in April to discuss the Duc Chong-Phu Nam canal, experts said that after the canal is completed, the water level of some of the main stream of the lower Mekong River "may be reduced by as much as 50%", or lead to seawater inflow, causing crop harvests to plummet, "more than half of the arable land area may be affected", which will directly affect the Mekong's water source and ecological environment. Therefore, some Vietnamese experts and scholars advocated putting pressure on Cambodia through the Mekong River Commission to submit a more comprehensive and detailed report.
Vietnam's official attitude is relatively "cautious". In response to a reporter's question, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam said that "Vietnam is very concerned about the Cambodian Duc Chong-Phu Nam Grand Canal project" and "is very concerned about and respects the legitimate interests of Cambodia", but hoped that Cambodia will continue to work closely with Vietnam and other countries of the Mekong River Commission to share information and comprehensively assess the impact of the project on the water resources, water resources and ecological environment of the Mekong subregion. To put it bluntly, Cambodia has made it clear that it is not obligated to submit relevant information to the Mekong River Commission, and the Vietnamese side has not been informed of the specific situation, and hopes to continue to strengthen cooperation, especially for the effective and sustainable management and use of Mekong water resources. It is reported that the Mekong River Commission has made several requests and sent two official letters in August and October last year, but Cambodia has not yet shared the feasibility study of the canal.
It is worth noting that the United States has also intervened in the Dechong-Funan Canal project, believing that after the completion of the canal, warships of certain countries will be able to directly reach the Mekong River through the canal, "threatening regional peace and security." In this regard, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sun Chanto publicly refuted it, believing that the speculation that this kind of canal is used for military purposes is absolutely untrue, pointing out that the canal only has a 3,000-ton channel, and the size of the locks is also limited, so it is impossible to pass through warships at all, because there are almost no warships of major countries that belong to the 3,000-ton class!
The Cambodian side also publicly responded to the opinions of "affecting the ecology" and "reducing arable land", and it was Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Mane, Senate President Hun Sen and other senior officials who personally responded publicly, Hun Sen even said that "Cambodia does not need to negotiate with Vietnam", and also urged some countries to stop opposing Cambodia's inland canal project. Cambodia even plans to invest $160 million to upgrade the Mekong Canal from the port of Phnom Penh to the Cambodian-Vietnamese border.
So, why is Cambodia pushing ahead with the Tak Chong-Phu Nam Canal project? This is primarily a matter of national interest. First of all, to solve the problem that the export of goods is subject to Vietnam. At present, Cambodia's largest cargo transit hub is Sihanoukville Port, which has a cargo throughput of 7 million tons and a container throughput of more than 750,000 TEUs in 2022, making it the most important cargo import and export hub in Cambodia. However, Cambodia's transportation infrastructure is relatively lagging behind, the West Port collection and distribution capacity is poor, coupled with the Mekong River's natural waterway function, Cambodia annually through the Mekong River about 33% of the goods transported to Vietnam for export, after the completion of the canal, this proportion will drop to 10%, a drop of 70%, which will greatly ease the dependence on Vietnam, logistics costs are also greatly reduced.
Second, to promote Cambodia's economic development. The canal project is an infrastructure project, and in the process of construction, it can drive the development of related industries and increase jobs; After the completion of navigation, it can not only save logistics costs, but also create more management and technical positions. In addition, it can also optimize the allocation of water resources and ensure the stability of agricultural irrigation water, benefiting more than 1.6 million Cambodians along the route, after all, Cambodia is also the world-famous "land of fish and rice"!
It is a regular practice for Cambodia to invite Chinese companies to participate. In view of the long-term friendship between the two countries, Cambodia's important transportation infrastructure is basically built by Chinese enterprises, such as the country's first expressway (Jingang Expressway) and the second high (Jinba Expressway), all of which are operated by Chinese enterprises in BOT mode, and the third expressway that is about to start construction is also built by Chinese enterprises. In terms of railway construction, the Phnom Penh-Poipet railway is also planned to be upgraded by Chinese enterprises, which will be connected to the Sino-Thai railway; At the same time, China and Cambodia have signed a memorandum of understanding on railway cooperation, and China will help Cambodia formulate railway development plans and train railway technical personnel.
The same is true for the Dechong-Funan Canal project. With a total investment of US$1.7 billion (about 12.3 billion yuan), Cambodia's economic strength is beyond its reach, after all, the country's total GDP in 2023 is only US$30.943 billion, ranking 8th among the 10 ASEAN countries, and the country's 2023 budget implementation revenue is only about US$6.01 billion. From a technical point of view, Cambodia still lacks infrastructure industry and infrastructure technology, and needs external support.
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