PHNOM PENH: The Minister of Public Works and Transport, Senior Minister Sun Chanthol, has expressed his frustration with the company continuously delaying the construction of National Road No. 2 and National Road No. 22.

Speaking at a press conference on the Achievements of the Ministry of Public Works and Transport over the past five years at the Council of Ministers on Thursday morning, 27 October, the Senior Minister said that he was not happy with the quality of the construction of both National Road No. 2 and National Road No. 22. The Korean company responsible for this construction has also asked to postpone the completion of these roads to mid-2023, from the previously expected deadline of April 2022.

"National Road No. 2 (Phnom Penh to Takeo) and National Road No. 22, we have opened the construction site of these roads as usual. As initially planned, National Road No. 2 and No. 22 were supposed to be done on 15 April 2022. However, the construction company was late and asked to extend the construction until 15 August 2022. But even now, this road is only 90% complete. Therefore, the company has requested to extend again until May 2023," explained the Senior Minister.

The Ministry of Public Works has met with the Korean company to study the quality of these two roads to ensure that they are long-lasting. However, upon the Ministry's inspections, it has found that the methods used for the construction have not been technically correct.

"We do not want to hear that the Ministry of Public Works and Transport builds roads that are [easy to] damage after doing much damage. [These are words that the] Ministry of Public Works and Transport does not want to hear."