The prosperity of Cambodian Highway 6
The car drove south from Siem Reap, the ancient capital of Cambodia, and quickly entered a wide and straight two-lane two-lane highway with smooth roads and clear markings. This is National Highway No. 6, which is known locally as "the best road in Cambodia". It connects the capital Phnom Penh with Siem Reap where the Angkor Wat monuments are located. The National Highway No. 6 expansion project starts from Kampong Cham Province, passes through Kampong Thong Province, and ends in Siem Reap Province. The total length is 251 kilometers. It was constructed by Shanghai Construction Engineering Group Co., Ltd., started in May 2013 and officially started in June 2018. Enable.
"The opening of Highway No. 6 marks the successful completion of the comprehensive upgrade and transformation of one of the most important and busiest traffic arteries in the national highway network, and it will play an important role in the economic and social development of the areas along the highway." Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said, "Cambodia will start from We have benefited a lot from the construction of the “Belt and Road”, and we are grateful to China for its great help to Cambodia. Cambodia has accelerated the realization of the interconnection between various provinces and cities in the country, and opened up the transportation lines between Cambodia and regional countries, which greatly promoted the economic development of Cambodia. "
Driving along Highway 6, most of the roads are two-way two-lane roads with a width of 12 meters, some sections are three-lane roads, and the section from Phnom Penh to Siqun is a two-way four-lane road with a road width of 25 meters. There are lush trees planted on both sides of the road. The white clouds in the distance and the rice fields on the roadside complement each other. The driver Karak told reporters: “Route 6 is the best road in Cambodia. Drivers like it very much. It only takes 4 hours to get from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh.”
On both sides of the road, there are bamboo rice stalls with plumes of smoke from time to time. "I couldn't sell a few a day before. Since the road in front of my house was repaired, I can sell hundreds of rice bowls every day, and my income has increased." The stall owner Nat's son and daughter are working in downtown Siem Reap. No, it takes more than an hour to return home one way. But now, “the children can go home to have dinner with us after get off work.” Nat’s face was filled with a happy smile, and the road 6 in front of her house was renovated and expanded, and her life also opened a new chapter.
Next to Nat’s stall is a car repair shop, and Poiri is working on a car with a few workers. He told reporters: "When the road was being rebuilt, I came here from Stung Treng province and opened a repair shop. The road was repaired and there were more and more cars. The repair shop’s business was very good, and I couldn’t be busy alone. Hired 4 lads to help."
Kompong Thong Province is Cambodia’s main rice producing area. The villages along Highway 6 are filled with rice, and the villagers are busy loading them onto large trucks. Villager Lane told reporters, “Planting two seasons of rice a year is the family’s most important income. It used to take seven or eight hours for rice to be shipped to Vietnam. Now the transportation time has been shortened, the freight has been reduced, and the price of rice has increased a bit. The family is saving money to cover it. A better house."
Pokat, a truck driver who came to the village to pull the rice paddies, told reporters that the road to Vietnam has to be changed several times, but the safest and smoothest is Highway 6. "I really hope that I can always follow Highway 6 to Vietnam in the future. All right!"
The expansion of Highway 6 not only brings convenience and business opportunities to the villagers along the route, but also makes it more convenient for tourists travelling between Siem Reap and Phnom Penh. The reporter stood on the side of the road and saw cars rushing past one after another, including small passenger cars, buses, large trucks, agricultural vehicles and motorcycles passing along the shoulder of the road.
There are six or seven buses parked in the highway service area, and many tourists are resting and shopping. Many Chinese tourists are in the bus driver Kun Ka. They have just finished their tour in Siem Reap and are returning to Phnom Penh.
"I have to travel between Siem Reap and Phnom Penh 5 times a week. Before the expansion of the highway, the lanes were very narrow. It was even harder to walk in rainy days. The one-way journey took 8 hours. Now it can be reached in 4 hours. The road quality is also very good and the ride is comfortable. Tourists from China, Vietnam, South Korea and Europe are now more willing to take the bus to and from Siem Reap and Phnom Penh. The convenience brought by Highway 6 is obvious."
"The opening of Highway 6 has promoted the interconnection between Phnom Penh and the central and northern provinces, and increased the traffic, logistics and passenger flow between cities along the route." The governor of Siem Reap Province, Ken Wensong, told our reporter that Highway 6 is Cambodia. The national transportation route is the link connecting the capital Phnom Penh with the tourist attraction Siem Reap, providing impetus for the development of Cambodia's tourism industry.
Thanks to the Chinese builders
"There is a road, there is hope! This Cambodian proverb tells the importance of transportation development to the Cambodian people." Cambodian Minister of Public Works and Transport Sun Zhanto told our reporter that Highway 6 is the most important national trunk road. Highway, the expansion and opening of this arterial road is of great significance to the improvement of Cambodia’s road transport network.
“Before the reconstruction of Highway 6, the traffic flow we observed was 4,000 vehicles per day, which has now at least quadrupled.” Sota, director of the Kompong Thong Provincial Transportation Bureau, told reporters, “After the completion of Highway 6, the number of shops and houses along the route has increased significantly. , The number of cars driving on the roads has increased significantly, and the traffic has become heavier, which greatly facilitates personnel exchanges and logistics, and closes the ties between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap and other northwestern regions. It will play an important role in the economic and social development of the areas along the highway. Thanks to China Thanks to the Chinese builders who participated in the construction of Highway 6."
Highway 6 is just a microcosm of China's many projects in Cambodia's assistance to construct transportation facilities. “China has helped Cambodia build more than 20 roads, over 2,600 kilometers, and improved Cambodia’s transportation network.” Cambodia’s Khmer Times commented that China helped Cambodia increase infrastructure construction, effectively reducing poverty and promoting Cambodia’s economic growth. .
Since the beginning of 2018, China’s aid projects on Highway 1577 and Highway 3 have been officially launched, and many new projects have started. "Chinese companies have built the most roads, built the most bridges, and laid the longest optical cable and the first international submarine optical cable in Cambodia..." said Wu Jian, deputy general manager of the Cambodia branch of Shanghai Construction Engineering Group Co., Ltd., 2018 Coinciding with the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Cambodia, Chinese companies will help Cambodia build more infrastructure.
Xiong Bo, the Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia, said that these projects aided by China in Cambodia fully demonstrate the strong momentum and fruitful results of China-Cambodia friendly cooperation. China is willing to work with Cambodia to actively promote practical cooperation in various fields such as the construction of the "Belt and Road", support Cambodia in accelerating development, and bring more benefits to the people.