Aimed at opening Kampot Province to the global market, construction has begun for the Kampot Logistics and Multipurpose Port, a $1.5 billion project that will cover over 600 hectares in land area.
Water depth of the location along Bassac River is at 15m, which will give the port a ship capacity of around 100,000 tons. The current phase will take about 18 months to complete, pegging competition of Phase 1 at December 2023 and costing an estimated $200 million.
The first of three (3) phases will include the development of container fields, identifying special economic zones, free trade zones, logistics centers, warehouses, and customs and manufacturing plants. Also included in Phase 1 are fuel refineries and energy distribution infrastructure.
It is one of the first large-scale endeavors to be spearheaded by a local company, the Kampot Logistics and Port Company Ltd., which is also based in the province.
At the groundbreaking ceremony last May, Ministry of Public Works and Transport Sun Chanthol said that the port would complement the work of the Sihanoukville and the Phnom Penh autonomous ports, and facilitate the transport of agricultural goods throughout Cambodia for exportation.
With the Sihanoukville port often congested these days, the Kampot port will be sure to lighten the load and allow Cambodian ports to facilitate more traders and create more profit, said Cambodian Logistics Association (CLA) President Sin Chanthy.
Sihanoukville currently has the largest port handling 641,842 TEU. By 2030, the new Kampot port will almost match this capacity, as it is expected to scale up to 600,000 TEU. In addition, this massive project is anticipated to provide 10,000 local jobs.
The chosen location for the port is also as secure as it is strategic economically: it is an area naturally shielded from disasters (e.g. typhoons) by the islands of Koh Thmey, Koh Ses, and Koh Tral, and will connect transportation by water, land and rail to Phnom Penh and other provinces thru National Road 41, National Road 4, National Road 3, Phnom Penh – Sihanoukville Expressway, National Road 48, and the southern railway connecting to the north of Cambodia.
KH