Cambodia develops rural road network

The Cambodian Ministry of Rural Development plans to upgrade 75% of all rural roads to concrete and asphalt by 2030 so as to help improve income, social secuirty, and life quality for rural residents.

Cambodia develops rural road network (Photo: thebettercambodia.com)

The figure represents nearly 50,000km of the roads being improved.

Minister Chhay Rithisen said at a recent forum in Phnom Penh that currently only 17% of rural roads, about 10,000km, are made of asphalt and concrete, which are resilient to climate change.

He said that in line with the Government’s Pentagon strategy, the ministry will strive to build as many concrete and paved roads as possible. Its goal is that every village or at least 75% of the 14,577 villages will have roads covered by asphalt and concrete by 2030.

The official said the national budget provided for his ministry this year is 75 million USD, which is not enough to meet the need for road repairs and construction of new roads. The ministry has relied on domestic and foreign development partners to achieve the 75% vision.

The four major international banks helping the ministry to build rural roads are the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank, the KfW Development Bank, and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank./.

VNA