Sihanoukville Autonomous Port (PAS) plans to expand deep port terminal into phase II and phase III aiming to handle the container traffic at the port, as the traffic of containers are predicted to increase in the years to come.

The studies on phase II and phase III of the deep port terminal expansion have been made and the port is seeking budget from the line ministry and development partners to develop the project, said Mr. Thay Rithy, PAS’ Deputy Director General.

The phase II and III are scheduled to begin in 2027 or 2028, Mr. Rithy told AKP.

At present, the ships entering and leaving here are small vessels, but to make the port a gateway for the country’s development and an independent economic gateway that connects Cambodia to other countries, leaders of line ministry and port are thinking of consecutive development plans,” he said.

As planned, the port terminal will be expanded to 410 metre long and 16 metre deep, and 440 metre long with 17.5 metres in depth for phase II and phase III, respectively.

The capacity development and enhancement of the port terminal are aimed to connect directly the maritime transport from Cambodia to the EU and the United States, he added.

PAS is capable of handling 700,000 TEUs and currently, the container traffic handling capacity reached about 80 percent.
“The capacity is almost full, so if there is a rapid increase of some 15 percent or more, we are stuck,” he said.

The construction of deep port terminal- phase I is scheduled to start in 2021 and complete in 2024.