General transport policy summary statements

1. Continue construction of new transport infrastructure

2. Strengthen transport management

3. Improve availability of year round affordable transport services for individual and commercial users

4. Improve transport services safety and security

5. Increase access to transport facilities for the poor and provide more work opportunities in the regions

6. Rationalize its transport institutions and develop human resources

7. Encourage the development of the private sector

8. Provide more information to the population about transport

Sharing of transport responsibilities

The Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MPWT) is the overall responsible for transport in Cambodia. It however shares specific responsibilities with the Ministry of Rural Development which is responsible for rural roads and rural waterways, the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation which is responsible for civil aviation and the cities which are responsible for urban transport.

Related policies

Background

Transport plays a critical role in the economic development of Cambodia. It provides access to schools, health centers and markets. Although road is the most common means of transport, railways and maritime transport play a vital role in moving heavy freight. Waterways transport is essential to the mobility of the rural population and air transport is making possible a large portion of the tourism industry. Urban transport makes possible the rapid development of cities. 

The national road network rehabilitation has nearly been completed and focus is moving to the secondary roads, where much work is still needed to provide the regions with all weather roads. Railways and maritime transport activities are minimal relative to their potential and must be developed. 

Decades of reliance on foreign donor projects have weakened the capacity of the government agencies to manage themselves and to coordinate and maintain the transport infrastructure investments. Prioritization of investment projects is not yet resulting from a methodical evaluation of the needs of the population. 

Prices as well as safety of transport services vary considerably and minimum standards of quality are not yet available. As traffic increases, road safety in particular is rapidly becoming a national concern. Availability of transport services is also irregular across the country and access to roads is not possible for a significant portion of the population during the rainy season. 

Private sector participation in transport has been successfully initiated through partnership agreements in toll road projects, airport concessions and a major reform is ongoing in railways. However, contractual obligations vary considerably from one contract to another and a broader regulatory framework is needed to improve reliability and consistency.

Policy Statements notes:

1) New transport infrastructure construction

Given the importance in providing basic transport facilities to all provinces of the country, the Royal Government Cambodia is committed to pursue its investments in infrastructure construction. Road rehabilitation and construction of new bridges will continue on the secondary road network until the regional centers are linked to the national network. Existing port facilities will be expanded and existing railroads will be rehabilitated. Opportunities for new infrastructure projects will be considered in all transport means, and prioritized according to national development policies using sound socio-economic evaluation criteria and methods.

2) Better transport management

The Royal Government of Cambodia is committed to improve its planning and management activities in all fields of transport. The government is committed to strengthen its planning methods in order to harmonize the development of the transport infrastructures and increase the socio-economic benefits of the projects. Similarly measures will be introduced to improve the efficiency of compliance inspections and of maintenance activities. The government is also committed to increase resources allocated to infrastructure maintenance to improve the durability of new investments.

3) Availability of affordable transport services

The Royal Government of Cambodia is committed to implement measures that will improve the availability of year round affordable transport services for individual and commercial users everywhere in the country. This will be done by encouraging private services where the demand is high and sufficient for profitability and by using subsidized services in remote areas, where demand is too low for profitability.

4) Safety and security

The Royal Government of Cambodia is committed to improving safety and security for all means of transport. The Government will continue to develop a better regulatory environment by introducing new laws and regulations and by strengthening the existing enforcement mechanisms. Implementation programs will be devised to facilitate the introduction of these new laws and regulations.

5) Access for the poor and more work in the regions

To empower the regions and reduce rural poverty, the Royal Government of Cambodia is committed to continue its decentralization of transport services and of small infrastructure maintenance activities, and to increase the number of all-weather roads and of small wharf facilities in all provinces.

6) Rationalization of institutions and development of human resources

The Royal Government of Cambodia is committed to rationalize its transport institutions and strengthen its human resources in order to provide better quality transport services to the population. Rationalization will be done through re-organizations and reforms activities. The Government is also committed to the continuous improvement of its human resources. These improvements will be made possible by introducing new recruitment procedures, new personnel databases, new motivation programs, new performance-based work programs and procedures, comprehensive training programs for all involved in transport.