Phnom Penh Ring Road
Violette Taps
KANDAL, Cambodia, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia on Thursday inaugurated the third ring road encircling parts of the capital Phnom Penh, which was built with concessional loan from the Export-Import Bank of China.
Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen and Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wentian presided over the inauguration ceremony held in Kandal province's Kean Svay district, with approximately 8,000 participants.
With two lanes for traffic in each direction, the third ring road stretches from the Win-Win Boulevard Roundabout in southwestern Phnom Penh to National Road 1 in Kandal province in the east of the capital.
He said that to thank Xi for his historic contribution to Cambodia's development, the Cambodian government decided to name the third ring road stretching from Highway 1 to Highway 4 as "Xi Jinping Boulevard".
Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wentian said that in 1965, Cambodian King Father Norodom Sihanouk named a road "Mao Zedong Boulevard" in Phnom Penh. And nearly six decades later, Hun Manet named another road "Xi Jinping Boulevard", marking a new milestone in the long-lasting relationship between the two countries.
The China-funded third ring road in southern suburb of Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh, open to traffic in August 2023, facilitates travel and transportation of goods and contributes to improving the livelihood of local residents.
PHNOM PENH, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Stretching from Highway 1 to Highway 4, the China-funded third ring road has transformed the once-tranquil southern suburb of Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, into a bustling suburban area.
Open to the public in August last year, the 53-km road, along with two river bridges and two flyovers, has not only facilitated travel and transportation of goods, but also importantly contributed to improving the livelihoods of local residents along the road.
Nguon Vannara, a 45-year-old owner of a cafe along the third ring road, said the development of the road has turned the area, once farmland, rice fields, and degraded forests, into a bustling suburban area.
Sim Channy, a 37-year-old grocer along the road, said her house was previously close to forests, but when the road was built, she could run a grocery store, which has much improved her living conditions.
"Previously, traveling to the Phnom Penh city center took a very long time due to poor road conditions, but after this ring road was built, it has helped shorten our travel time by 50 percent," he told Xinhua. "Our travel is easier and our businesses are better than before."
Thong Mengdavid, a lecturer at the Institute for International Studies and Public Policy, a school of the Royal University of Phnom Penh, said the third ring road was another fruit of close cooperation between Cambodia and China under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
"The road has not only eased traffic jams in the city center, but also contributed to promoting business, trade, investment, logistics and tourism, so local people will greatly benefit from it," he told Xinhua.
Mengdavid said under the BRI, China has undertaken many mega projects such as roads, bridges, Sihanoukville Special Economy Zone, hydropower plants, Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway, and Siem Reap Angkor International Airport.
This project for Phnom Penh Ring Road No. 3 (including Truck Traffic Control Measures) includes: (i) Construction of the new road and (ii) the revision of track ban (after completion of the ring road).
The project is supposed to reduce the traffic congestion in the south-north roads in the city and the east-west of the city across the Bassac River, which supports the process of socio-economic development and urbanization.
The construction of the $300 million third ring road is the 52 kilometre road that stretches from National Road 4 from Por Sen Chey district in the west of Phnom Penh and crosses National Roads 3 and 2 to National Road 1, in the east of the capital, connecting to the Phnom Penh autonomous port.
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Financed by the Export-Import Bank of China and built by the Shanghai Construction Group, the gleaming, four-lane divided highway came wrapped in Chinese professions of solidarity with Cambodia, its closest ally in Southeast Asia.
Near here, at a new Ring Road interchange, Hun Sen Boulevard leads to a 10-square-mile construction site. There, bulldozers of the China Construction Third Engineering Bureau Group push through a landscape of rice paddies, building what is to rank, by size, the ninth-largest airport in the world.
This year, Cambodia is to receive only 2 million visitors by air, about a quarter of the pre-Covid peak, in 2019. Yet tourism planners believe that Cambodia will soon return to the boom years when jets flew here from 20 Chinese cities.
Built on a build-operate-transfer system, the toll road seems too rich for Cambodian palates. Charging $12 for the drive, China Road and Bridge Corporation has a 50-year concession for what is now an empty highway.
Thus far the strategy to alleviate such choke points has been adding flyover bridges to congested intersections. No less than three flyovers have been built over the last several years for Boulevard 271 alone.
Recently, a fourth flyover was announced where Boulevard 271 intersects with Monivong Boulevard and Samdech Techo Hun Sen Boulevard, with an estimated construction price tag of $36.8 million for the interchange.
A single car lane has the capacity to move 1,100 people per hour, according to the Global Designing Cities Initiative. This lack of efficiency is not helped by the fact that most cars only carry one to two passengers despite having capacity for more. In contrast, a single dedicated bus lane can carry 6,000 people per hour and a two-way bike track can carry 7,000 people per hour.
The latest flyover for Boulevard 271 will be a triple stack interchange, 1200 meters long and 17 meters tall at its apex, according to OCIC, the main contractor. Apart from cost, the project will require thousands of cubic meters of concrete, several hundred tons of steel and asphalt, and a 36-month construction time just to build one intersection.
It is obvious that a car-oriented solution is bound to fail, hence a new approach which focuses on moving people is needed. In the case of Boulevard 271, city planners should recalibrate their strategy to reimagine the first ring road to be a transit and people friendly thoroughfare.
Recognizing the space constraints and the need to transport people, Vienna opted to prioritize the most efficient transportation means. Thus, on most stretches of the Ringstrasse there are only three narrow car lanes. Capacity is augmented by two street tram lines with a combined capacity of 16,000 people per hour.
Additionally, by cutting down on car space, planners also managed to incorporate two bike lanes, boosting capacity by another 15,000 people per hour. These space efficient transportation modes allowed the placement of up to four rows of street trees shading the thoroughfare and adding much needed greenery.
With up to 31,000 active and transit commuters passing through every hour, the Ringstrasse further supports this traffic by providing people-centered amensities like wide, tree-covered sidewalks, beautiful public buildings, public parks, and plazas. And this is not just to the benefits of commuters but to the immense benefit of businesses flanking the ring road as well.
Similarly, for Boulevard 271 local planners can first commit to reducing car lanes, replacing them with dedicated bus lanes to improve transportation capacity. Currently, Phnom Penh City Bus Line No. 7 serves the boulevard but is placed in mixed traffic, degrading its efficiency.
Moreover this intervention can be quickly and cheaply done, simply by repainting the car lanes and utilizing bollards and barriers to physically separate the bus lanes. Bus stops along the route can also be upgraded to sheltered bus stops, with additional seating added to facilitate commuters.
Furthermore, the space saved from reducing parking space will clawback much needed space for wider pedestrian sidewalks, public seating areas and street trees. This will radically transform the beauty of Boulevard 271, from a cluttered and unshaded environment devoid of pedestrians to a pleasantly shaded and vibrant space.
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