Since 2021, a new round of new crown pneumonia has spread across the country in Cambodia. The Cambodian central and local governments have adopted strict regional blockade measures and accelerated vaccination to stop the epidemic through a two-pronged approach. At present, the epidemic is under preliminary control. Whether it is the catering and tourism, clothing and footwear industry, or the real estate industry, all of them have been greatly injured in this round of epidemic "raid", but most of the large-scale infrastructure projects in Cambodia that are only supported by Chinese-funded enterprises are on schedule. The advancement has added a lot of confidence to the post-epidemic recovery of Cambodia's economy.

Chinese enterprises move forward

On May 18, the large plate beam of the boiler of Unit 1 in Cambodia's Sihanoukville Port 2×350 MW coal-fired power station project invested and constructed by China Huadian Group was successfully hoisted, marking the completion of the main frame of Unit 1’s boiler. This project is the largest power generation project currently under construction in Cambodia. The two units are expected to be put into operation at the end of 2022 and March 2023, respectively, with an annual power generation capacity of approximately 5.2 billion kWh. Le Jianhua, executive director of Huadian Westport Company, said that after the community spread of the new crown pneumonia epidemic in Cambodia, the project team insisted on epidemic prevention and construction to ensure that "zero infection" and construction are not affected, and firmly grasp the golden period of construction in the dry season. The nodes were completed as scheduled.

China’s aid to Cambodia’s eighth cross-river bridge, the Grochma Bridge, was completed ahead of schedule and commissioned in March. This bridge is the third cross-Mekong bridge built by a Chinese company in Cambodia. Xin Guoshun, the executive deputy general manager of the Shanghai Construction Engineering Group Cambodia Company responsible for the construction of the bridge, introduced that the company currently has a number of projects under construction in Cambodia. Among them, the Phnom Penh Third Ring Road with a total length of 47.6 kilometers has been constructed more than half. Although the construction period of the 79.1-kilometer Cambodian Rural Road Phase II Bid Section 1 has not yet passed half of the construction period, the project volume has been completed by 71.4%. The 71C national highway with a total length of 114.5 kilometers and a main branch line starting in April 2021 will complete 30% of the subgrade filling before the onset of the rainy season. Xin Guoshun said that the outbreak of the epidemic and the ensuing blockade did cause inconvenience to the organization of construction and management, but the company's timely adjustment and deployment have minimized the impact on the progress.

The Golden Port Expressway, Cambodia's first expressway with a total investment of more than US$ 2 billion and a total length of 187.05 kilometers, is also underway as scheduled. According to Wang Pengtao, deputy general manager of China Road and Bridge Jingang Expressway Project, as of mid-May, the project has been 60% completed. “The whole line is in full swing towards the goal of opening to traffic in September 2022.” He said that in the face of the severe epidemic situation, the general manager of the project strictly implemented prevention and control measures and actively implemented the vaccination of Chinese and Cambodian employees. Launched labor competition and "Management Improvement Year" activities.

Angkor International Airport Investment (Cambodia) Co., Ltd., which is responsible for the construction of Siem Reap's new international airport, has established a joint prevention and control mechanism with participating units while formulating and implementing various plans in response to the epidemic situation. In early May, all employees of the participating units of the project have completed the second dose of vaccination. According to Wang Hongxian, deputy general manager of the company, as of now, the construction of the flight area and road engineering has been basically completed. After the main structure of the terminal building is topped, construction work such as concrete pouring of the steel structure cone column is being carried out. Comprehensive supporting projects such as viaduct roads and airport office buildings have all started foundation construction.

Wu Guoquan, Economic and Commercial Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Cambodia, said that the embassy specifically coordinated the Cambodian hospital and sent a medical team to the Golden Port Expressway, Siem Reap New International Airport, Huadian Westport Coal-fired Power Station and other large and concentrated major projects to carry out on-site vaccination services. The embassy also instructs companies to adopt measures such as "large closure + small isolation", strengthen personnel health monitoring, improve prevention and control plans and emergency response plans, strengthen the ability to guarantee emergency supplies, and ensure that the progress of the project is not affected.

Mekalian, a senior adviser to Cambodia's Supreme Economic Council, said that infrastructure upgrades are an important part of the country's economic development. The projects that are still progressing as scheduled during the epidemic are amazing and grateful. "We don't know when we will be able to survive the epidemic, and in what form the economic recovery after the epidemic will take place. But in any case, the improvement of infrastructure will play an important role in it." Editor/Tian Zengpeng