Phnom Penh Post
By May Kunmakara
Liu Ziming (L),
chairman of China Railway Major Bridge Engineering Group Co Ltd, and
Zhang Chuan You, general manager of Cambodia Iron & Steel Mining
Industry Group, shake hands following a signing ceremony in Phnom Penh,
Monday, Dec. 31, 2012. Photograph: Heng Chivoan/Phnom Penh Post
The Cambodia Iron & Steel Mining Industry Group (CISMIG) and the
China Railway Group Limited agreed yesterday to build a new railway line
with 11 stations as well as an iron and steel factory in Preah Vihear
province.
The Memorandum of Understanding between the Groups is worth US$9.6 billion.
“We will start our project in July next year and it will take about
four years,” Zhang Chuan Li, Chairman of CISMIG, told the Post
yesterday. He added that Chinese and Cambodian experts analyzed the
project’s feasibility and its environmental impact in October 2010.
According to the company statements the railway will be 405
kilometres long, from the mining area of Preah Vihear province through
the southern provinces of Kampong Thom, Kampong Chnang, Kampong Speu and
finally Koh Kong province. It will not connect to the existing lines of
Toll Royal Railways.
Zhang Chuan Li told reporters at the signing ceremony that the $9.6
billion investment will be used to build the new railway line, a new
port and a new bridge in Koh Kong. The planned iron and steel plant in
Preah Vihear will cost $1.6 billion.
However, he said that the company received 1,300 square kilometres of
land concessions from the government and 10 square kilometres would be
necessary for the factory in Preah Vihear. The companies did not
disclose the exact route of the new line.
Yim Sovann, spokesman for the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, claimed
that the government should follow the international bidding process for
the approval of any foreign investment in all industry sectors.
“I don’t want to see companies grab people’s property and destroy
natural ressources,” he said. “It will allow corruption, if government
and company agree on such projects without a public bidding process.”
Referring to the factory, Zhang Chuan Li explained: “With the factory
we want to minimise the country’s import of steel. We also plan to
export to neighbouring countries like Vietnam and Thailand.”
The construction of the factory, which will produce 1 million tonnes
of steel and iron per year, will take two and a half years, according to
the CISMIG chairman.
The company will not import raw material for the production, but use
national mines in Preah Vihear, Rattanakkiri, Kampong Thom and Stung
Treng provinces.
Minister of Transportation Tram Iv Tek, who participated in the
signing ceremony yesterday morning in Phnom Penh, said the investment
will contribute to the development of the Cambodian economy.
“If the investment is successful, it will definitely help the
development of Cambodia’s economy. It will not only allow the
transportation of resources, but also of agricultural and industrial
products as well as passengers,” he said.
Youn Heng, director of the Evaluation and Incentive Department of the
Council for Development of Cambodia, confirmed that the CISMIG’s plans
were approved by the government in 2010.
Chinese investments in Cambodia, mostly in the garment, textile,
agriculture and mining industry. They totalled $9.1 billion between 1994
until the end of July 2012.
On Friday the stretch of railway line from Phnom Penh to Preah Sihanouk province started temporary operations.
The first operations on the southern railway will boost trade
activities in the region and attract trade transportation activities,
officials said.
To contact the reporter on this story: May Kunmakara at
kunmakara.may@phnompenhpost.com
4 comments:
Chinese business man signed business deal with Chinese man on other country like Cambodia that is not their country or not Chinese country?
How ridiculous is that?
Zhang Chuan You is the Vietnamese guy using Chinese name to fool Cambodian people and International Community, isn't it true?
We need to find out who the guy Zhang Chuan Yuo is?
Please be aware of Vietnamese crooks who can play the dirty secret plans to fool Cambodian people like us and foreigners, using Khmer names and Chinese names.
We need to make who are in the offices of CPP government, trying to be Hun Sen's advisers and subordinates or Vice- or Deputy Ministers. We have seen many Vietnamese/Yuon crooks who are Hun Sen's comrades, advisers, vice- and deputy leaders like Sok Kong, Hor Nam Hong, Men Sam On, Sok An, Var Kim Hong, Keat Chhon, Khiev Kanharith, etc. Why are they, the Vietnamese parasites, working such good positions that tell Hun Sen in wrong reports and fooled Hun Sen (who is very dumb and stupid blind Vietnamese Puppet) to destruct and destroy Cambodia and caused so much pains and suffers to Cambodian/Khmer people from the Killing Fields to present day?
It is so unbelievable to see the Vietnamese leaders in Hanoi and Vietnamese folks have caused so many problems to or among Cambodian people and society, creating the chaos in the country of Cambodia (a last piece of land left over from Cambodian Empire land in Southeast Asia).
Royalties, 20000 jobs, taxes, transportation of agricultural products, and passengers from north-eastern to the sea...That what Cambodia gets from the deal! Currently Cambodia imports 900000 tones of steel every year. After 2017 we will be self-sufficient in ferrous materials and we will be also able to sell iron products to Thailand or Vietnam. China, already the bigest steel producer in the world, will not need to import it from Cambodia.
10:52 PM, Agree, It's Chinese and Chinese companies signing a business deal in Cambodia by using Cambodia as the ground. I doubt if Cambodia would benefit much as the steel is meant for Chinese market and Cambodia will get very little in royalty and taxes. The railway is temporary railway, only for the transport of the steel from Preah Vihear to Koh Kong then to China, it cannot be used for other benefits like transport other goods or transport passengers etc. After all the iron ores have all been extracted, the railway will be abandoned. I'm pretty sure of that.
Steel consumption in China is forecasted to a total of 668 million tones in 2013. China’s output expected to climb 4% next year to 732 million tones according to Australia’s Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics (BREE).. So probably there would be no need for China to import steel from Cambodia in the foreseeable future. Nothing can prove that “Cambodian steel”, if produced, will be for Chinese market. Beside what we know is that Cambodia imports from the outside 900000 tones of steel this year and the projection is on the increase. Do we have to rely on Vietnam indefinitely to supply our market for steel? Vietnam would be very happy to know that some Cambodians rely on them for steel to build highways, bridges, condominiums, etc. We want to export one million tones of rice, or more every year. We will also have many other agricultural products to export like rubber etc and we cannot ship them only to Vietnam through the Mekong River. In the future other industrial goods and passengers as well will need to be shipped out. Do not forget that iron ore will be milled in Rovieng province of Preah Vihear. We are not in the same situation like in some Africa counties in ’60 described by Samir Amin , when roads were built to ship different mineral products oversea and became useless when mining activities ceased. A railroad across Tonle Sap, through Krovanh Mountain, linking rice producer’s provinces like Kompong Thom, Kg Chhnang,, Kg Speu with a bridge of more than 3000 meters to reach a port on Smach Island off Koh Kong Province will be a huge benefit to Cambodia in the future.
Post a Comment