Five river port terminals due by Nov: minister

THE TS11 multi-purpose port terminal on the Tonle Sap River in northern Phnom Penh is 85 per cent complete and is on track to be launched on July 1, with four more terminals to be opened by November, according to transport minister Sun Chanthol on April 25.

One of the seven satellite terminals – existing or under-development – under the management of state-run Phnom Penh Autonomous Port’s (PPAP), TS11 is expected to significantly reduce the times and costs associated with shipping and receiving goods to and from Cambodia’s provinces.

The minister told reporters on April 25 that the five under-construction terminals would be opened within “three or four months” following the launch of TS11 – also known as Kilometre 6 Terminal.

Chanthol listed these as Prek Anhchanh and Prek Kdam ports in Kandal province just north of the capital; Tonle Bet Port in Kampong Cham; Chhlong Port in Kratie; and Kampong Chhnang Port in the namesake province.

Adding these five to TS11 and the existing LM17 container terminal – in Kandal Loeu village, Banteay Dek commune of Kandal’s Kien Svay district – brings the total to seven.

The minister said TS11 would be able to handle “60,000 to 90,000” twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU), reduce land freight traffic and create jobs for locals.

A TEU is an inexact unit of cargo capacity used in the shipping industry roughly equivalent to a container with internal dimensions measuring about 20 feet long, eight feet wide and 8.5 feet tall, or a volume roughly 38.5 cubic metres.

Chanthol underscored that Cambodia had historically pushed for the adoption of as much waterway