Hopes high for logistics master plan lift

PRIVATE logistics players are optimistic that the Cambodian transportation sector will become far more competitive in the coming years, driven by tens of billions of dollars worth of projects underway and in the pipeline, as part of the government’s push for infrastructure optimisation and improved integration into the global supply chain.

Cambodia Logistics Association (CLA) president Sin Chanthy told The Post that although transportation costs in the Kingdom are in general higher than in Vietnam and Thailand, they are still below rates seen in the Philippines and Indonesia. “[Local prices] are seemingly a bit high, but not the highest in all of Asia.”

To recap, the Kingdom is in the process of finalising the Comprehensive Intermodal Transport Master Plan 2022-2030 (CIT-MP), which the Ministry of Public Works and Transport says will comprise 150 hard and soft infrastructure development projects, and require an investment of about $30 billion over the next 10 years.

With a focus on promoting trade and commerce, the CIT-MP – which is comprehensive in nature – will cover roads, railways, waterways, airways, logistics and ports, as well as transport interactivity, Chanthy said, positing that following through on the master plan would make Cambodia “truly be cost-competitive in relation to other countries, regionally and globally”.

He opined that other provinces will have to develop facilities akin to the Phnom Penh Logistics Complex (PPLC) and its Sihanoukville counterpart (SLC) in Preah Sihanouk province, which he depicted as a necessity for the Kingdom’s transportation system.

Of note, a Financial Advisory Service Agreement was signed on April 19 by Minister of Public Works and Transport Sun Chanthol and Asad Yaqub, resident representative of the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC), to forge a public-private