Shipment through the Phnom Penh Autonomous Port increased by more than 28 per cent in the first 11 months of this year, surpassing a government target for 2011.

About 73,760 shipping containers passed through the port between January and November, data shows, up from 62,256 containers during 2010.

The 11 months of throughput passed the government-set goal of 73,300 by about one percentage point.

PPAP general director Hi Bary said fast growth in the Cambodian economy had pushed shipment services further and earlier than expected.

“Our economy has made a recovery in all sectors,” he said, referring to a rebound in growth after construction and manufacturing slowed in 2009.

The World Bank has estimated Cambodia’s gross domestic product will grow by six per cent this year.

Garments, agricultural products and construction materials accounted for most of the shipments through the port, data shows.

About 50 per cent of imported construction material came from China, Hi Bary said, with rice exports largely going to the European Union and Russia.

The government’s goal of exporting a million tonnes of milled rice by 2015 was expected to add to the growth in shipments from the port, he said.

Sin Chanthy, general director at Linehaul Express, said his company’s shipments during the first 11 months of this year had increased by 15 per cent compared with the corres-ponding period of 2010.