Somehow I had in mind to stop this blog after 5 years, which I believed would be soon. Just found out that I have just passed the 4 years! So no end in sight?
- Rail news. Besides the news that the railway rehab is ongoing there is the news item on the company involved ordering carriages and loco's. It also seems that the company working in Cambodia has taken on a new investor in the form of local firm Royal, but that news seems to have eluded most.
- The Phnom Penh Post once more highlights the lack of interconnecting railways in Southeast Asia.
'The only missing link on that route is between Ho Chi Minh City and Phnom Penh'.
Elsewhere in the same newspaper is an op-ed on the same subject:'In terms of trade the benefits are obvious. The new network would provide links to some of the Kingdom’s most important trade partners – China, Vietnam and Thailand. With Cambodia beginning to see large increases in its exports in recent years from a small base, this rail project could provide added impetus to the development of these industries. Furthermore, a new rail connection provides an additional transport link to key deepwater ports in Singapore and Cai Mep in southern Vietnam. Economic opportunities associated with completion of the project, therefore, also benefit industries like the garment sector, as most exports flow to these ports and on to Cambodia’s primary export markets in North America.
Given these clear benefits to the economy, why is the government not making this project an absolute priority? Instead of resorting to the type of mentality that expects others to front the capital, Cambodia needs to consider ways it could help finance the project'.
- Stan Kahn gives his own thoughts on the same subject.
'... our August 20 coverage of the Mekong railway project, which included a front-page picture, an opinion column and report leave a lot to be desired. First, the opinion piece by Steve Finch lays the blame for not finishing the project solely on Cambodia, which is quite unfair considering Vietnam is also required to build new tracks. Furthermore, the huge US$1.09 billion cost of the new line, more than half of which comes from the need to construct two very expensive bridges, including one over the Mekong, is not something Cambodia could tackle on its own.
Maybe the Vietnamese are just smarter.
... it would be clear why the cost is so high. That new line starts just north of the capital, heads east and a bit north to Kampong Cham, then east all the way to Snoul, where it then makes a sharp right turn and heads south to connect with a short line in Vietnam, which should also be on the map, which comes due north from Ho Chi Minh City.
The connection between the two major cities would be much faster and shorter if it were routed generally along Highway 1. In that case, Vietnam would be responsible for close to half the cost. The present, less-desirable routing places about 95 percent of the cost onto Cambodia, which is much less capable of shouldering the burden'.
- New rail, new roads. Not always so easy to undertake. Phnom Penh's road to the north was to be widened but after that virtually knocked down all that needed to enable the widening, PM has stepped in and said that the widening was a bit optimistic. A new problem?
'It would now appear, however, that at least some of these families were forced to tear down their homes unnecessarily'.
- Bridges galore. The bridge over the Mekong to make the road to Saigon seamless is to be tendered. The bridge has been waiting for ever to move forward. Scheduled date of completion 2015. Don't hold your breath.
- New roads open, others are being blocked.
'Around 300 villagers embroiled in a land dispute with a sugar company owned by a prominent senator blocked National Road 52 in Kampong Speu province yesterday in an effort to prevent the company’s employees from tearing down villagers’ homes'.
With frustration with the near daily reports on land conflicts increasing, expect more of this.
- Air transport. The national carrier has received it's own country license only a year after operation. Furthermore an as yet unidentified airline will seek to fly between Indonesia and Cambodia. Not direct but via Singapore, so that's no better than Silk Air, Tiger, Jetstar or Air Asia ...
- First of all a sorry tale:
'23-year-old security guard has been seriously injured after he was crushed by a luxury SUV in front of a popular city cafe, according to the man’s family.
Mom Chamroeun, who worked as a security guard in front of Gloria Jean’s coffee house in Chamkarmon district, was hospitalised after the Wednesday incident.
“His left leg is seriously broken and has to be amputated,” said Sam Sokla, the man’s sister. “His kidney, liver and intestines are also damaged.”
Ney Sokhay, a security guard nearby who saw the incident, said Mom Chamroeun was sitting in front of the cafe when a van collided with a Lexus. The crash sent the Lexus veering into the guard, he said.
Gloria Jean’s Managing Director Michael Albert said the business is soliciting customer donations, which will be matched then handed to Mom Chamroeun’s family'.
- Bricks thrown from vehicles (see also here). Police will drop the case(s) according to their own logic:
'“We have not found the suspect.... We are not in the process of investigation,” he said. “There is no case anymore.”'
- Finally there is Cambodia's Pocket Guide Out&About for Phnom Penh which has a section on cycling on page 50. In it besides finding out where you can buy a cycle and what to do without ending up as roadkill it mentions
'there are plans to transform whole swathes of the capital's streets into tourist-friendly, pedestrianized areas with narrow cycle lanes'.
Funny, it as least takes a more serious look at the advantages cycling have. Further along on page 66 a piece on staying alive which is an essential article of how to survive on Phnom Penh's roads. It involves great one-liners such as:'... as a foreigner you're not supposed to be here and, if you weren't then the accident would never happened'.
