National Road No. 5 Inaugurated with Presence of PM and Japanese Ambassador

Posted Jan 10, 2022 17:12 by Yuri Matoszko
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BATTAMBANG: Prime Minister Hun Sen presided over the inauguration of the first section of National Road No. 5 on Monday morning in Battambang. The first section of the road inaugurated today stretches for nearly 85 kilometers and connects Battambang province to Serey Sophorn city, in Banteay Meanchey province. The Ambassador of Japan to Cambodia, Mikami Masahiro, also attended the inauguration ceremony.

The Minister of Public Works and Transport, Senior Minister Sun Chanthol, said the new road from Battambang to Serey Sophorn is the first of three sections of the National Road No. 5 project, which has a total budget of $500 million under an official development assistance loan from the Government of Japan.

According to the Senior Minister, the three sections of the road include the first, which is by the North, from Battambang to Serey Sophorn, and was inaugurated this Monday morning;

The second section, in the South from Prek Kdam to Thla Mam, with a length of 135 kilometers and which is about 64% complete and scheduled to be delivered by mid-2022;

And the third section, located in the middle of the road, from Thlea Ma’am-Battambang and Serey Sophorn-Poipet, with a length of 146 km, is at the moment around 55% completed in its construction.

National Road No. 5 is a rubberized asphalt concrete (RAC) road with a thickness of 15 centimeters and a width of 23 meters which covers four lanes. The first section of the road includes the construction of two roads between cities: 24 kilometers of roads in Battambang city and 9 kilometers in Serey Sophorn.

It also includes the construction of two new bridges, as well as the expansion and repair of 10 existing bridges. The project includes the installation of 76 box drains and 113 round drains, as well as LED lighting at intersections.

The announcement ceremony for the start of the road construction was held under the high presidency of Prime Minister Hun Sen on 26 of March 2018. The first phase of the road took 55 months to complete, finishing in September 2021 with a total budget of $165 million.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony on Monday morning, Prime Minister Hun Sen extended his congratulations to the new infrastructure achievement linking the two northern provinces, which were former battlefields.

National Road No. 5 is a strategic road linking the capital city, Phnom Penh, to the border of Thailand, which crosses through the provinces of Kandal, Kampong Chhnang, Pursat, Battambang, and Banteay Meanchey. The road is part of the ASEAN Highway 1, which connects Phnom Penh, Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City together.

According to the Prime Minister, such a road acts as a strategic economic corridor of ASEAN and the Greater Mekong Subregion, bringing more trade, commerce and tourism to the Kingdom.