KAMPOT: Cambodia on Monday (April 21) inaugurated a US$10mil tourism port in the seaside southwestern province of Kampot here, aiming to promote the kingdom's maritime transportation sector.
Located in Teuk Chhou district, the 4.2-hectare Kampot International Tourism Port has a water depth of three metres and can accommodate vessels carrying up to 300 passengers or tourists.
Speaking at the event, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said the port would play an important role in attracting more tourists to coastal areas and islands.
"The port will boost the tourism sector in the province, contributing to improving local economy and people's livelihoods," he said.
The prime minister added that the port has connected seaborne tourists from Thailand and Vietnam.
Peng Ponea, minister of Public Works and Transport, said the port's construction started in August 2018 and was completed in June 2022 under the credit of 10 million dollars from the Asian Development Bank.
He said that to date, the South-East Asian country has a total of 119 ports including 31 sea ports and 88 river ports.
Tourism is one of the four pillars supporting Cambodia's economy. The country is expected to attract up to 7.5 million international tourists in 2025 from 6.7 million in 2024, according to the Ministry of Tourism.
Cambodia has a pristine coastline stretching in the length of about 450km in four southwestern provinces of Preah Sihanouk, Kampot, Kep, and Koh Kong.
The kingdom is renowned for four Unesco-listed world heritage sites, namely the Angkor Archaeological Park in northwestern Siem Reap province, the Temple Zone of Sambor Prei Kuk in central Kampong Thom province, and the Temple of Preah Vihear and the Koh Ker archaeological site in northwestern Preah Vihear province. - Xinhua
