Japan funds Cambodia’s new container terminal with over $300-million loan

The Government of Japan has agreed to provide a loan of $306 million to Cambodia for the expansion of a new container terminal at the Port of Sihanoukville.

According to a recent release from the Cambodian Foreign Ministry, the loan was approved and signed on 6 August.

Cambodia’s Foreign Minister, Prak Sokhonn, and his visiting Japanese counterpart, Hayashi Yoshimasa, exchanged notes and related documents on the extension of the loan under the presence of Cambodian Prime Minister, Samdech Techo Hun Sen.

The loan agreement for the project was signed between Cambodia’s Economy and Finance Ministry Secretary of State, Hem Vanndy, and Chief Representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency Cambodia office, Kamei Haruko.

“This loan will substantially contribute to the expansion and modernisation of the Sihanoukville Autonomous Port and the transformation of the port into a principal deep seaport for Cambodia and in the region in line with the commitment made by the Prime Ministers of the two countries earlier this year,” said Cambodian Foreign Ministry’s spokesman, Chum Sounry, in the release.

Located in the southwestern province of Preah Sihanouk, the Sihanoukville Autonomous Port is the only international and commercial deep seaport of Cambodia.

The port made a gross revenue of $93.2 million in 2021, up 17.6 per cent year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Public Works and Transport. In total, the port handled 6.9 million tons of containerised cargos last year, up 6 per cent year-on-year.

In May, the Cambodian Ministry of Public Works and Transport held a ground-breaking ceremony to mark the start of construction at the new International Multi-Purpose Logistics and Port Centre in the southwestern province of Kampot.

The project is estimated to cost $1.5 billion and will be built on a total area of 600 hectares, with a depth of 15 meters to accommodate vessels weighing up to 100,000 tons.