When long-suffering commuters stuck in Bangkok’s traffic jams first heard that an elevated train was coming to their city, they weren’t the one ones to rejoice – developers and landowners had reason to be pleased too.
Now, as traffic in Phnom Penh gets worse by the day, the news of the capital’s Skytrain being built is having an identical impact on those that struggle with congested streets daily.
During the official visit of Cambodian Minister Hor Namhong and Japanese Minister Keiichi Ishii, Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Minister of Tourism accountable for water policy in Japan, on May 5, an agreement was reached on Japan’s investment of $800 million to develop the primary automated light rail in Phnom Penh.
The proposed electric skytrain line, called Automated Guideway Transit (AGT), would span greater than ten stations and have a three-car capability with a capability of 330 people.
The planned corridors of the rail system that may connect with Phnom Penh airport would run through Monivong Boulevard: the east-west corridor through Russian Blvd, and the southwest corridor through Monireth Blvd.
Road Safety Institute director Ear Chariya said the creation of efficient public transport in Phnom Penh was overdue given the growing traffic congestion.
Chariya added that making a rail system, whether surface or not, would encourage the usage of public transport, thereby reducing reliance on cars, and over time could even result in reduced emissions because of this of fewer people using their very own vehicles.
Meanwhile, leading real estate figures welcomed the news, hailing it as an indication of growing investor confidence in the colourful Khmer capital.
“When a city experiences major infrastructure investments like this, investor confidence increases significantly,” said Sorn Seap, CEO of real estate consultancy Key Real Estate.
Sorn added: “And that will push the real estate sector up – to be stronger and more sustainable in the future. It confirms that the country is proactively looking to the future – as opposed to reactively adapting to problems as they arise.”
“When an investor arrives in Phnom Penh and finds themselves stuck in traffic on their way to the city centre, it has a significant impact on their perception of the country. The sky train will provide both citizens and investors with easy access to the city and will hopefully put Phnom Penh in a better light for prospectors,” said Mam Sereypanha, CEO of Easy Property Investment. Khmer Times.
Seng Sambath, a well-travelled Phnom Penh resident, said: “I even have visited many countries in Asia, reminiscent of Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, and I all the time wondered if Cambodia would experience the identical infrastructure development.
“Now that this project has finally been announced, I feel very excited and positive about my country,” Seng said. Khmer times.
In addition to the skytrain project, Cambodia has also entered into other infrastructure improvement agreements with Japan in recent times. These include the Residential Management Policy, City Development Plan and City Management Plan.
Source : Phnom Penh Post Office | Khmer times
