Asian Angle | Why Cambodia has mixed feelings about China-built Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville road
- Two China-backed projects in Cambodia show that some can be far more effective than others and it’s not always easy to win people over
- For while a new motorway is proving popular, residents of Sihanoukville are unhappy at the high number of Chinese businesses
What kind of Chinese investment might win over Cambodians’ hearts? The benefits, costs and public reception of two landmark projects may help to answer that question. For while people seem enthused to use a new road, they are uneasy about economic change in the city of Sihanoukville, which lies at one end of it.
By mid-October, about 200,000 vehicles had travelled on the thoroughfare. Local media have reported welcoming, positive responses from motorists who were content with the convenience, efficiency and safety of the route.
This author drove from Sihanoukville to Phnom Penh and has to admit that he shares the gratification. The road reduces travelling time to two hours from five on the congested National Road 4. In the first two weeks of operation, only six accidents were recorded (an accident rate of 0.004 per cent), with no injuries or deaths.
This assuring start is warmly welcomed, given the generally dismal state of road safety in the country. Traffic accidents cause an average of 5.4 deaths per day in Cambodia, making it the sixth leading cause of mortality.
