Cambodia Begins to Construct River Bridgewith Funds From China

Cambodia on Monday broke ground for theconstruction of a bridge across the Bassac Riverin the southern part of the capital Phnom Penh，with funds from China.

The ceremony was presided over byCambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet andChinese Ambassador to Cambodia WangWentian and attended by officials，localauthorities，residents and students.

The bridge，measuring 845.7 meters inlength and 27 meters in width，along with an804.3-meter connecting road，will be built by theShanghai Construction Group under China'sconcessional loan and is expected to becompleted in 42 months.

Hun Manet said the bridge，connectingMeanchey district in the west with Chbar Ampovdistrict in the east，will play an important part indealing with the rising numbers of people andvehicles in the capital.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet （front，R） and Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wentian （front，L） attendthe groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the bridge across the Bassac River in Phnom Penh，Cambodia，F(xiàn)eb.19，2024.Cambodia on Monday broke ground for the construction of a bridge across the Bassac River in thesouthern part of the capital Phnom Penh，with funds from China.

The Cambodian prime minister emphasizedthe positive impacts of China-funded transportinfrastructure projects on both internalconnectivity and regional integration withneighboring countries.

"On behalf of the people and government ofCambodia，I'd like to express my profound thanksto the people and government of China foralways supporting the development of Cambodiain all areas and in all circumstances，without anystrings attached，" he said.

As 2024 is the Cambodia-China People-to-People Exchange Year，Hun Manet is confidentthat the initiative will bring more Chinese touristsand investors to the Southeast Asian country.

Ambassador Wang is confident that the newbridge project will give an extra boost to thedevelopment of Cambodia's economy，particularly in the southern part of Phnom Penhand its adjacent province of Kandal.

He said the project is a testament to theironclad friendship between China andCambodia.

Source： Xinhua