Cambodia Golden Port Expressway is the first expressway in Cambodia, connecting Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, and Sihanouk Port, the country’s largest deep-water seaport. It is a project invested by China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) in the “build operate transfer” mode, and has now become a landmark project for China and Cambodia to jointly build the “the Belt and Road”.
↑↓ Drone captured footage of the Jingang Expressway section.
The Jingang Expressway adopts Chinese design and quality standards, spanning 5 provinces, with a total length of 187.05 kilometers and four lanes in both directions. After the opening of this highway in 2022, the travel time from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville Port will be reduced from over 5 hours to less than 2 hours. Since its operation two and a half years ago, it has served over 12 million people and provided support for various festivals and large-scale events in the local area, pushing Cambodia into the era of highways.
↑ Drone captured footage of the Sihanouk Port container terminal.
A drone captured a car passing through the Phnom Penh toll station on the Golden Harbor Expressway.
The car is driving on the Jingang Expressway section.
The tremendous changes in transportation have not only injected strong vitality into Cambodia’s economic development, but also built bridges for local residents to achieve a happy life. Thanks to the construction and operation of the Jin Gang Expressway, which created over 10000 job opportunities during the construction period and currently directly and indirectly provides over 2000 job opportunities, the Jin Gang Expressway has brought considerable economic and social benefits to Cambodia, as well as tangible benefits to the local people.
The scenery of Sihanoukville captured by a drone.
Staff are on duty at the Jingang Expressway Monitoring Service Center.
Staff guide vehicles at the Phnom Penh toll station on the Jingang Expressway.
Cambodian man Zhenli lived in Ratanakiri Province in northeastern Cambodia five years ago, earning a meager income of $100 a month from washing motorcycles to barely support his family’s expenses. In 2020, Zhenli left her hometown and became a driver at the construction section of Jingang Expressway. After the highway was completed and opened to traffic, he signed up for the highway administration officer training class and became one of the first batch of local road administration trainees.
Under the careful guidance of Chinese teachers, Zhenli started learning professional content such as high-speed accident handling procedures, road property knowledge, and damage assessment details from scratch. Eventually, he passed the assessment and joined the K26 Road Administration Patrol Brigade as a road inspector. Since then, his income has increased several times compared to five years ago, and his family’s life has had hope.
Wearing a work uniform and preparing to go out to work.
Really ride a motorcycle to work.
Shinri and his wife are eating fruits in front of the house.
Cambodian girl Dojdane has worked as a female worker in a garment factory and a kindergarten teacher. After arriving in Jingang, she gradually grew in her work and became the class leader of Class 3 at the Phnom Penh toll station. Although she may encounter various problems in her work, she remembers what her teacher said during training: this is Cambodia’s first highway, and many drivers are not familiar with the rules of the highway. Toll collectors must try their best to understand each other.
Now, Duozhidanei is persisting in learning Chinese. When it comes to the future, her gaze is firm: “I want to learn Chinese well, strive for greater promotion opportunities in future competitions, and continue to grow at the Golden Harbor Expressway
Duo Zhidanei at work.
Duo Zhidanei at work.
↑ Drone captured footage of the Phnom Penh toll station on the Golden Harbor Expressway.
Photo by Zhang Jinja
Text: Zhang Jinjia, Wu Yue, Wu Changwei
Production: Yu Yangdan Airlines
Jointly produced by Xinhua News Agency Photography Department Asia Pacific Branch Phnom Penh Branch