Cambodia will soon boast its first tractor assembly plant, with operations expected to begin by the third quarter of this year.

The one-hectare plant, in Phnom Penh's Por Sen Chey district, is a joint venture by Belarus-based Minsk Tractor Works, one of the world’s biggest tractor producers, and Mekong Agriculture Tractor Company, a local agricultural equipment business.

The tractors produced would be sold in Cambodia first, then to other ASEAN countries “after we expand on our capabilities,” Huot Sovann, a manager with Mekong Agriculture Tractor, said.

Construction of the plant was 50 per cent complete, Sovann said. He declined to reveal how many tractors would be produced.

According to an earlier report by the Council for the Development of Cambodia, Belarusian Deputy Industry Minister Gennady Svidersky said last year the plant could produce about 1,000 tractors a year.

Cambodia imported about 1,000 tractors a year, mostly from Thailand, Huot said.

Domestic manufacturers will stand to gain from the assembly plant.

Sovann estimates that after three years, 30 to 40 per cent of the parts needed for tractor production will be outsourced from local companies.

Cambodia would also benefit from the transfer of technological know-how, he said.

Mekong Agriculture Tractor is the local distributor for Minsk Tractor Works, which has 22 assembly plants abroad.

 

To contact the reporter on this story: Low Wei Xiang at [email protected]