Improvement of the National Road 3 hit 98 percent completion by the close of May, according to a senior transport official, adding that the whole construction will be completed in the third quarter of this year.
The National Road 3 connects Phnom Penh capital (Chaom Chao roundabout) and Kampot province, with a total length of nearly 135 kilometres, passing through the provinces of Kandal, Kampong Speu, and Takeo.
Key remaining works include the decoration, installation of traffic lights, said Mr. Heang Sotheayuth, Spokesperson at the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MPWT).
The road has now been opened for partial use, and an official ceremony to inaugurate the improved road will be held physically under the auspices of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen if there is no threat of COVID-19, he added.
The road rehabilitation sees the section from the roundabout Chom Chao of Phnom Penh to Bek Kous of Takeo province increased in width to 24.5 metres (4 lanes), and the section from Bek Kous to Kampot City widened to 12 metres (two lanes) – from previously nine-metre width.
The renovation also includes two overpasses to be completed in June, making it convenient and logistically efficient for factories and businesses along the road.
Costing around $220 million, the road improvement project is carried out by a Chinese company, China Road and Bridge Corporation, with technical control by Guangzhou Wanan Construction Supervision Co,. Ltd.
The road sits as an industrial corridor to the south and connects to the ASEAN highway network from Thailand to Cambodia and to Vietnam. Chea Vannak – AKP
This article was first published in Khmer Times. All contents and images are copyright to their respective owners and sources.