Cambodia to establish National Port Policy and Administration System

By Sok Lak

The ministry of transportation and public work on November 3 debated the draft law on national port policy and administration system to get more the major inputs among stakeholders in the field of maritime and port sectors in order to establish law on national port policy and administration system in Cambodia.

The project of Establishment of National Port Policy and Administration System in Cambodia was started in March 2009 and completed in November 2011, which has the goal to contribute to capacity development for Cambodia officials in planning the nationa port policy and administration system, to propose the draft national port policy, to develop the framework on collection of port statistics, and to prepare a daft of port law and related regulations including road map for enactment.

H.E. Tram Iv Tek, Minister of Ministry of Public Works and Transport, said that if Cambodia has proper national port policy and administration system, sustainable port development will be improved and water transportation will be easier which lead to reduce unnecessary cost for products transportation.

“The establishing daft policy and port regulation will support economic development activities, to promote international trade, to ensure behavior of port development, to provide easy way to port users and ensure of security, safety and environmental protection,” Minister stressed. “Regulation is soft infrastructure of society which equal value to hard infrastructure.

“If there is no soft infrastructure, the hard infrastructure will not effectively process. The developing and using port effective if there is port policy and port regulation to lead port sector progressing,” Minister stressed.

H.E. Yasujiro Suzuki, Chife Representative of JICA Cambodia Office, said that the daft “Port Act and Related Regulations”,

“National Port Policy” were developed, Pilot project for Port Statistics was successfully conducted, and “Roadmap for Establishment of Port Act and Related Regulations” are prepared. “It is crucial to implement the proper and sound national port policy by utilizing outputs and to respect the port act and related regulations rather than to just prepare the good drat papers,” he added.

Cambodia possesses enormous potential for further economic development and expect to have better services and lower prices for logistics while Cambodia located on the Southern Economic Corridor in the Mekong Region, connecting Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam , Phnon Penh and Sihanoukville in Cambodia and Bangkok in Thailand .“I believe that the establishment of national port policy and promulgation of the port act and regulations will harmonize better administration, management and operation and stimulate intra-regional logistics and trades,” H.E. Yasujiro expressed his believed.

H.E. Leng Thu Yuthea, Under Secretary of State of Ministry of Public Works and Transport, said the national port policy is to support country’s economic development and establishing competitive ports as well as promoting international gateway ports with providing greater convenience to port users while daft of port act and related regulations is to establish a rational system, to maintain orderly port development, to provide convenient and efficient port services, to ensure the safety and security of ports and environmental protection.

However, the national port also face some challenges such as the opening of Cai Mep-Thi Vai Port which possible to change in cargo flow and maintaining maritime network of seaport, private port development.

Source: The Southeast Asia Weekly, November 6-12, 2011, Vol. 5, Issue 45, Page 3