Japan Donates US$72 Million for Sihanouk Ville Port Development

By Soy Sophea

Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Hor Namhong, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (IMFC) and Japanese Ambassador to Cambodia, Katsuhiro Shinohara have signed an agreement on a Japanese grant and loan to Cambodia. The signing ceremony was conducted under the presidency of the Cambodian Prime MinisterHun Sen.

Prime Minister Hun Sen expressed his gratitude to the Japanese government for their support of Cambodian development during the signing ceremony at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation on August 13.

Hor Namhong, said that he welcomed the grant aid and loan from Japan to contribute to Cambodia’s development. He added that Japan has assisted Cambodian 13 times since 1993 with grant’s for the improvement of Cambodia’s economic structure.

Katsuhiro Shinohara, said that the Sihanoukville Port Multipurpose Terminal Development Project, costing up to 7 billion Yen, equivalent to around US$72 million, will support the port by developing the general cargo terminal oil supply base. “The importance of this is clear,” he said. “Sihanoukville Port will play an ever more important role in the national economy as a maritime gateway to and from Cambodia.”

Katsuhiro added that since he was appointed as Ambassador to Cambodia in 2007, up to now, exchange of notes have been signed to a total amount of over 31 billion Yen, equivalent to approximately US$229 million. “This includes the Port Grant and funding for 60 other projects by Japanese NGO’s,” he said.

Moreover, Katsuhiro assured that Japan would continue to be the number one donor to assist Cambodia in every possible way in its efforts to reduce poverty and develop the nation. “I hope that the assistance from the people of Japan and the Japanese government committed today will accelerate Cambodia’s economic and social development, and will ultimately benefit all the people in the kingdom of Cambodia.”