24th June, 2010
The Cambodian Prime Minister officially opened the country's first highway bridge in Phnom Penh on Thursday.
With the help of the city's mayor and thousands of onlookers, Prime Minister Hun Sen cut a ceremonial ribbon on top of the structure.
Locals at the ceremony shared their excitement.
[Him Sokha, Teacher]:
"I am very happy that we have the first sky bridge, which we never had before, and our Khmer people can walk and drive on it."
[Sam Vanna, Village Chief]:
"It is our Khmer pride that we have the first sky bridge, it is a tremendous bridge for our country and I still live to see it. I will bring my wife, children and grandchildren to walk or drive across it later on today to remember the opening day."
The bridge cost over 6 million dollars and was created to help ease traffic congestion in the city.
The bridge is 1,010 feet long, 17 feet high, and about 47 feet wide. It was completed last month and took one year to build.
6 comments:
It is very little development....
I feel embarrassed when someone said it is "the national pride". I don't see any pride with that bridge. Cambodia could be grown more than that. 30 years already. Nothing improved much. If we compare Cambodia to the Japan, during 30 years Japan move quickly and become the dragon in Asia after the disastrous world war II . However, look at Cambodia, nothing new...
Why don't they look at the countries around you, how are they developed?
Honestly, to be proud of that thing is really cheap.
I agree. It is just a simple overhead bridge and look very basic, cost around $6 million. Look at Bangkok, it has super-highways, Sky trains and a lot of tall buildings and Thailand is only slightly bigger than Cambodia. And this bridge was built by Chinese engineers and with Chinese money. It is good to have the bridge but it is nothing like "a national pride" as such.
Time to replace Angkor Wat with the skybridge on the flag...
But seriously, bridges/roads/tunnels don't ease traffic congestion. If you make it easier to drive, you create more demand for people to drive.
And Thailand isn't slightly bigger than Cambodia, it's muuch bigger than Cambodia (geographically, economically, by population etc.)
to me it is a pride and cheap. so what, its our first sky bridge!!! this will show those in srok khmer that there are room to grow and improve our country.i don't want to be like thai or japan anyway. i want khmer charms. i don't want a city that have too many bridges that overwelmed phnom penh landscapes.CHEAP AND PRIDE IS NOT THE POINTS,ITS OUR PEOPLE'S CHEERS. and who care about them people that know and have big structures. i cared the khmers are cheerfull, cheap, pride, and empowerment.
Jeeeeezzz O.K..smart-ass , just because someone said the word "pride" pertaining to the overpass or highway bridge, doesn't make all of you start punching and kicking Cambodia to the curb already. I think that guy meant to say "proud", the translation is off the beat little. Anyhow, it's been some few decades now since the last major construction in Cambodia. Cambodia is getting back on its feet and you could say that highway bridge is a sign of more structures to come. There will more unusual concrete structures slowly rising from the ground of Phnom Penh, so I hope no one is going into shock and start throwing punches.
If it hadn't been wars, all of you wouldn't dare to cough up smart-ass comments about Cambodia because prior to the wars, Cambodia was one of the most develop country in Southeast Asia. The Vietnam War caused the communist dominoes effect, which spilled into Cambodia and lead to the creation of the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot, Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia in 1979, and another two decades of civil war. Yea..that would add to about 30 plus years of no progress. So..don't get too up-tight just because someone said the word "pride" for Cambodia's first highway bridge.
12:42 AM, Thailand is 4 times bigger than Cambodia and the population is about 5 times (70 million) bigger than Cambodian population (14 million).
It is not the size of the country or population I try to compare here. It is the pace of development and democracy etc. What I try to say is Thailand grow at the same pace as Cambodia in the 1960s, in term of economic and political development. Now Thailand is the second biggest economy in the ASEAN region and is much freer than Cambodia in term of political freedom.
What I try to say is it is because Thai leaders are smarter and think about their country more than Cambodian leaders think about our country, that's why they are able to develop their country much better and faster.
A simple overhead bridge is nothing like "a national pride". This is what Hun sen try to brainwash the Khmer people for his own political gains. It is just a simple overhead bridge costing $6 million. It is good we have this bridge, but don't lie to the people. Hun Sen made it sounds like another Angkor Wat has been built or something, which is not the case.
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