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4.5.1
TRANSPORTATION 284. The Government’s goal for the transport sector is to establish an efficient (low cost and competitive) transport network that can support economic growth, poverty alleviation, regional cooperation and globalization. The Government’s medium term objectives for the transport sector are: to rehabilitate, maintain, and expand transport infrastructure to facilitate integration of market and maximize trade, especially within the region, giving priority to rural development, domestic and international trade routes, and tourism facilities. Specifically, RGC’s medium term priorities are to: (i) rehabilitate
and reconstruct the main national roads to improve access to a land
transport system throughout the nation, (ii) improve the efficiency in the
use of existing infrastructure, institutions,
and operational performances, and (iii) build road links to neighboring
countries, thereby opening to international trade and tourism, (iv)
increase revenues from the transport sector to cover an increasing share
of maintenance and development, (v) strengthen institutional capacity in
sector planning and management, and (vi) promote increased private sector
participation in the financing of transport infrastructure development. 285.
ROAD TRANSPORT: In the road sector, RGC’s first
priority is the rehabilitation of the road network and strengthening of
its operations and maintenance capabilities. A significant bottleneck in
the rehabilitation of the road network is the large number of river
crossings, also on the main national roads. Many existing bridges have
load capacities below 20 tones and collapses are not infrequent. The Road
Master Plan has three main objectives: (i) to rehabilitate and reconstruct
the main national roads, thereby improving land transport throughout the
nation, (ii) to build road links to neighboring countries, thereby opening
up some of the more remote areas of the country to international trade and
tourism, and (iii) to develop a sustainable road maintenance program,
thereby assuring that investment in road rehabilitation and reconstruction
generate sustainable benefits. 286. In 2001-2002, external assistance for the
rehabilitation of 1,400km of road network was secured. In addition,
RGC’s planned target is to carry out emergency repairs and short-life
rehabilitation of an additional 4,800km of the road network. First
priority will be given to the main/secondary national roads that connects
Phnom Penh to the provincial capitals. Second priority will be given to
2,000 km of the national road system that directly link adjacent provinces
and connects small communities with towns and cities. The planned
activities will strengthen the linkage between the three broad economic
zones into which the country is divided for transport planning process.
These are: (i) tourism zone, formed by the triagle of Siem Reap-Preh
Vihear and Kompong Thom, (ii) industrial zone, defined by the entire
northern coastal zone of the country, and (iii) agro-Industrial and
eco-tourism zone, covering the eastern region of the Mekong river,
including Ratanakiri and Mundulkiri. 287.
The Government recognizes that the country’s geographic location
offers strategic opportunities for establishing Cambodia as a regional
transportation hub for the Greater Mekong sub-region. The Government
places high priority on further expanding trade, particularly within
ASEAN, and on improving cross border linkage. The budget will be used to
the maximum extent possible to finance the local cost of domestic roads
and railway programs either alone or in parallel with international
agencies. In addition, the Government will assess the scope of financing
regional infrastructure programs through the participation of the private
sector, as has been the case with the international
airport, national road NR4, Koh Kong bridge. The reconstruction of
RN6 will be continued to link Siem Reap and Angkor Wat temples to Phnom
Penh and Poipet/Cambodia-Thai border by road which will open and
facilitate increased tourist traffic on this route. Regional routes will
be improved and the upgrading of RN1 and RN5 will constitute the first
phase of the Ho Chi Minh-Phnom Penh-Bangkok Road through Cambodia. RN7
will be rehabilitated to link southern Laos with Phnom Penh and
Sihanoukville via RN4 together with construction of a bridge over the
Mekong River at Kompong Cham with the support from the Government of
Japan. RN48 will be rehabilitated to link Sihanoukville, the
trade-industrial zone of the country to Bangkok port and the other main
international ports in the region to facilitate the traffic of goods and
could also become importance route for regional trade. In the frame work
of economic cooperation between Cambodia and Thailand some more of
secondary roads and provincial roads will be rehabilitated and
linked with Cambodia-Thai border as NR56, 57, 58, 59, 68, 69, 64,
..etc. The rehabilitation of national roads NR78, 76a,78a, 78b, 76,
72, PR303a, 303b in
Ratanakiri and Mundulkiri Province will
open the new opportunity for facilitating transportation goods and people
crossed the border and international trade and tourism in the framework
bilateral, triangle socio-economic cooperation area and Greater Mekong
Sub-region. 288.
Other immediate plans include the preparation of technical studies
to assess requirements and priorities for inter-connecting roads and
establishing road-bridge maintenance organizations to ensure that
investments are sustained. The government will place emphasis on job
generation during project implementation, as these types of projects can
provide significant employment during construction using labor-intensive
techniques. 289.
The establishment and implementation of an adequate road
maintenance fund is essential in order for Cambodia to benefit fully from
the assets already built and to ensure the long-term sustainability of the
road network. In this regard, the Government will aim to ensure that the
maintenance of the road network, including bridges and ferries, is
financed by vehicle registration charges, tolls, international transit
fees and fuel levies or other related taxes and duties. The setting-up and
introduction of standard unit costs for use in project preparation and
sectoral databases describing the nature of sectoral assets, age,
condition and maintenance history will provide a basic for formulating a
strategy for meeting recurrent costs. 290.
Investment priorities for port and inland waterways
transport include rehabilitation of dredgers to allow for the regular
dredging of all major waterways, rehabilitation and expansion of
Sihanoukville deep water sea port for which a master plan was completed
and the project implementation is currently under preparation with the
financing support from the
Government of Japan. Further
upgrading of the Phnom Penh inland
river port as well as improvements to smaller domestic river and lake
ports and upgrading of the existing ferries are also priorities. The
establishment of self-financing entities to own, manage and maintain the
international ports of Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville and Koh Kong and to
assist provinces to establish locally generated funding mechanisms to
develop and maintain island port facilities, is being pursued with the
private sector. Other plans include: establishing a national ports
policies; establishing maintenance organizations for waterways and ports;
and a comprehensive data base for executing necessary future-oriented
studies. 291.
The establishment of self-financing entities to own, manage and
maintain the international ports of Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville through
locally generated funding mechanisms is an objective of the Government.
Other plans include: establishing a national ports policies, establishing
maintenance organizations for waterways and ports, and a comprehensive
data base for executing necessary future-oriented studies. The RGC’s
plan is to develop and maintain the port facilities and to improve the
Sihanoukville Port through the construction of a new cargo wharf (400m
length), expansion of container wharf (160m), building a Container yard 60
000 m² and container cranes supply, and improving the roads, power supply
and lighting system in the
port area. 292.
The railway network has long been a vital, but much damaged and
grossly under-utilized asset. An immediate priority of the RGC is to
prepare performance standards and a regulatory framework that is aimed at
facilitating the expansion of private investment throughout the transport
sector. At present, the regulatory framework for private sector
participation in specific areas such as rail is not clear. The Southern
railway line between Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville port requires
rehabilitation to reduce excessive operating costs to enable it to
effectively compete with road transport. The viability of rehabilitating
the northern line, including the missing link to the Thai border, will be
investigated. Additional rolling stock and track maintenance operations
will be needed to provide an adequate level of service to the growing
traffic. Emphasis will also need to be given to the rehabilitation of
additional rolling stock, and upgrading of signaling equipment,
development of efficiency standards, and cost recovery management. 293.
The availability of Civil Aviation services is a
pre-requisite for the development of the tourism sector that has a
significant multiplier effect on the economy. The Civil Aviation
Development Framework (CADF) 1996-2005 guides Government activities. The
CADF focuses on immediate establishment of the regulatory framework to
meet international standards for safety, operations and security; air
navigation services, communications,
surveillance, and meteorology, development of national airport; and
strengthening institutional capacities in planning and management. It also
emphasizes efficiency in regulating and licensing, ensuring that
competition is promoted and monopoly situations are avoided, safeguarding
consumers, and enforcing adherence by transport operators to national
safety, technical and environmental standards. The current CADF needs to
be updated and will require support of external partners. There is also a
need to improve and upgrade noth-east domestic airports at Stung
Treng, Rattanakiri, and Modulkiri. To meet the international safety
standards the Communications-Navigation-Surveillance/Air Traffic
Management Systems (ATM) are urgently needed. The Pochentong Airport is
being further improved under the ongoing BOT agreement. There is also a
need to upgrade the Sihanoukville and the Siem Reap international airports
improved to international
standards to cater to the growing traffic to the area (Angkor temples). 294.
Government interventions will be strictly limited to ensuring that
markets work by regulating market entry and the licensing of transport
systems. This will ensure that competition is promoted and monopoly
situations are avoided. The aim is to safeguard consumers as well as to
seek better adherence by transport operators by enforcing the national
safety, technical and environmental standards. Suppliers of transport
services will not be constrained in tailoring their services to customers
provided that they adhere to legislative and regulatory rules designed to
protect consumers, workers health and safety and the environment. 295.
To ensure that these policy action are successfully implemented and
enforced it is imperative that the MPWT has the capacity to implement
medium term policies. Furthermore, steps will have to be taken to
strengthen and develop sector institutions, so as to increase the range of
feasible policy options. The Government with external assistance will
promote efforts to improve public sector capacity to identify, prepare,
implement, manage, and co-ordinate policy and investment priorities. The
MPWT will also carry out with external assistance an inter-modal transport
study for the transport sector as a whole to formulate a comprehensive
long-term transport policy. 296.
Public investments, loans, private sector's investment under BOT
formula will be utilized to implement this plan for the rehabilitation and
development of the national road infrastructure. 4.5.2
WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT AND SANITATION 297. The water resources sector plays a key role in the implementation of the government policies aimed at poverty reduction through the provision of irrigation for rice production and the supply of drinking water to the population in towns and in rural areas. Every year, about 475 billion cubic meter of water flows through Cambodia into the sea. Because there are limited facilities to store these waters, during the dry season, there are only limited options to supplement irrigation for agricultural production and drinking water supply. Floods, droughts, the misuse of surface and underground water resources affect the incomes and the health of the population and cause delays in achieving the poverty reduction goals. A draft of the Water Law has been approved by the Council of Ministers and is now proceeding to the Parliament for endorsement. 298.
The RGC’s goals for the management of the water resources,
sanitation, and metrology are :
299. The Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology has prepared an action plan to achieve these goals. The elements of the action plan include:
4.5.3
ENERGY ELECTRICITY
POWER DEVELOPMENT 300.
Cambodia’s Power Sector Strategy (2001-2005) sets out the
priorities and a major investment program to lower tariffs and bring
reliable electricity supplies to considerably more Cambodians. The planned
investment program includes: (i) the development of a generation and
transmission grid to link large electricity generation units between Phnom
Penh and the provincial capitals; (ii) provincial towns electrification
plan to rehabilitate supplies; and (iii) the development and
implementation of a rural electrification plan. Rehabilitation and expansion of Phnom Penh’s electricity
supply system is being continued. Generation capacity is also being
expanded with an interconnection from Vietnam and over the next five years
from a new gas turbine combined cycle power plant in
Sihanoukville. These improvements will allow a reliable and security
of electricity supply to the outer regions of Phnom Penh. 301.
National Generation and Transmission Grid: The Program to establish
a National
Generation and Transmission Grid commenced in 2000. The first stage of
this program is the construction of transmission line between Vietnam and
Phnom Penh through Takeo Province. The second stage is the construction of
a transmission line from Kampot province to Takeo province and the third
stage is the transmission line from Sihanoukville to Kampot province. It
will allow generating units to be established in Sihanoukville to provide
supplies to provincial cities between Sihanoukville and Phnom Penh and
also increase the capacity available to Phnom Penh. By establishing
generation in Sihanoukville which is expected to be a gas power plant, it
will lessen the need to transport fuel on the Mekong reducing the danger
of oil spills and environmental damage. The portion of
transmission line from Phnom Penh to border of Vietnam through
Takeo will be established first to import electricity from Vietnam in year
2003. The 220 kv Interconnection from Vietnam will supply power to
communities in the South and increase capacity available to Phnom Penh. A
Five-Year Rural Electrification Program including renewable energy will
also be scheduled. The total cost of this first portion of power
transmission and rural electrification project is estimated at US$89M.
Another 115 kv interconnection transmission line is also planned to
connect from Thailand to Banteay Meanchey, Battambang and Siem Reap
provinces to support the provincial and rural electricity program. The
plans also include developing hydropower project in Kamchay and there
after Stung Battambang, Stung Atay and Russy Chrum. 302.
Electricity
Law: The Electricity Law has
been promulgated and an independent regulatory agency for the electricity
sector, the Electricity Authority of Cambodia (EAC) has been established.
The EAC is responsible for tariffs setting, licensing of all electricity
suppliers and monitoring the national electricity standards, and
regulations. Private power suppliers and
independent power producers are encouraged to participate in the
implementation of the energy Development plan. The technical and
operational performance of EDC is being strengthened through concerted
capacity building to enable it to develop the needed technical skills and
to perform the power sector planning, management, accounting and budgeting
functions. The electricity law provides transparency, and a regulatory framework
that will ensure a balance between giving investors a reasonable return on
capital and ensuring tariffs are as low as possible. 303. Hydropower Development: Decisions about the pace and scope of hydropower development will be taken within a framework that carefully examines the costs and benefits of this development. The first step is to conduct feasibility studies of the potential sites. Further support from donors is being sought to formulate technically sound and economically optimal multipurpose projects, and to strengthen program/project planning capacity for these activities. In addition to the rehabilitation of the Kirirom 12 megawatts project, that is now in progress, a feasibility study of the Kamchay hydropower project in southern Cambodia with an installed capacity of around 120 megawatts is currently being conducted. A number of small-scale hydropower projects are also being considered as priorities for local supply, such as Stung Battambang (60 megawatts) Prek Thnot, Stung Chinit and Sambo project. The total potential of the Mekong tributaries is estimated, with minimum risks to the environment, at 2,200 megawatts, with a further 1,000 megawatts from rivers outside the Mekong Basin. 304.
Sector Financing: The
RGC’s approach to financing the power sector is to encourage private
sector financing and to seek concessional loans from multilateral and
bilateral donors to generate funds for the expansion of the power sector
at the lowest cost. While at present, revenues only partially cover total
costs, the approach to financing the expansion of the power sector is
based on the principle of full cost recovery. The
RGC’s target for the power sector is have a level of revenues that will
meet the total costs operating and maintenance of the facilities as well
as the costs of replacement of capital equipment. To this end, further
revision of the tariff schedule for different consumers is envisaged to
encourage efficiency and power conservation in parallel with intensified
efforts to attract additional private sector participation in the
development of the power sector. 4.5.4
POSTS, TELECOMMUNICATIONS, AND NATIONAL INFORMATION 305.
The RGC’s goals and objectives are to establish an efficient
commercial low cost telecommunications network of adequate capacity and
coverage in line with the Master Plan together with an efficient public
postal service and a public broadcast network. For the medium term the
objectives are to: (i) provide telecommunications network that can
adequately cover Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville and Siem Reap and to expand
services to the urban cores of provincial towns; (ii) establish national
standards for the design, construction and operation of all
telecommunications services; (iii) strengthen postal organizational
structure and institutional capacity to improve service delivery; and (iv)
expand the television and radio network. Sector development hinges on
improvement of the telecommunications regulatory and legal framework and
more efficient use of resources in the postal and information services.
Strengthened regulatory framework will encourage additional private
investment and alternate financing and technical shortages.
Restructuring of the postal and information services primarily
through reallocation of resources to their most efficient use is a
prerequisite for additional major capital investment.
National Information Services are committed to the maintenance and
expansion of an independent press and to expanding the coverage and
efficiency of radio and television networks. 306.
Telecommunications:
Over the next five years, the RGC is committed to establish the
Cambodia Telecom (CT), rehabilitate and extend customer telephone networks
of Phnom Penh, and construction of a microwave or FIO
link between: (i) Kampong Cham - Phnom Penh – Takeo - Kampot – Sihanoukville; (ii) Kampong Cham - Kampong Thom -
Siem Reap – Sisophon; Kampong Cham – Kratie - Stung Treng; and (iii)
Mondukiri, Pailin, Preah Vihear, Udom Mean Chey.
It will involve installation of central switching (15,000 lines) in
Phnom Penh and network extension to Poipet, Banteay Meanchey, Battambang,
Pursat, Kampong Chhnang, Neak Loeung, Svay Rieng, Bavet.
The goals are to provide adequate network capacity and coverage to
at least one line per 100 people to fully cover Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville
and Siem Reap and to expand services to the urban cores of the other
provincial towns. Other activities include: preparation and enactment of a
Telecommunications Act to provide the legal framework for the industry;
maintaining the existing MPTC database and incorporating all relevant
information related to the existing networks to allow for monitoring of
demand; execution of studies needed for the development of a long-range
comprehensive plan for networks extension in provincial towns; Development
of this plan to incorporate priorities for development of the provincial
system; execution of studies
by CT to identify and elaborate on project sites in coordination with town
planning authorities; development by CT of administrative units for
procurement of equipment, supplies and materials, and establishment of
proper accounting and monitoring systems for rehabilitation and new local
area networks; establish national standards and practices for the design,
construction and operation of all telecommunication systems, and for
customer services. Measures will be implemented by CT to develop on-going
training, for transferring technical expertise, administrative and
operational skills to CT personnel and to operators of provincial systems.
There will be full coordination by MPTC with the donor community in the
development of plans, studies projects and financing in order to avoid
unnecessary duplication of efforts, and to secure the resources necessary
to rehabilitate and extend networks. 307.
Postal Service:
Over the next five years RGC will: (i)
strengthen organizational structures and institutional capacity in order
to ensure efficient delivery of services; (ii) develop the administrative
capacity for procurement of equipment, supplies and materials; (iii)
establish proper accounting and monitoring systems; (iv) establish a
database of all physical assets and manpower as a basis for planning of
maintenance, training and redeployment; (v) carry out studies to assess
the requirements for improving and extending postal services into the
communes; (vi) promote competition in bulk mail transport to and from the
provinces. The Government will ensure that funds are made available
and properly managed to maintain constructed facilities. Commercial
charges will be applied to telecommunications operators utilizing post
office services.
308.
National
Information Services:
The RGC is committed to maintaining and expanding the independent press
and to expanding the coverage and efficiency of the radio and television
networks. It will upgrade
essential equipment and build technical capacity through continuation of
in-house and overseas training, and extend the television network to
provinces where reception is not currently available. |
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