Sihanoukville Autonomous Port (SAP) will undergo expansion works in an effort to increase the dock’s shipping capacity, officials say.

Construction on a new 3-hectare cargo terminal, funded by the Japanese government via an $80 million loan, is set to commence later this year or early next year and be completed by 2017, Chea Sambath chief of Planning at SAP said.

“The port plays a major role in exporting our products and we need to expand our capacity quickly to cater the predicted rise of cargo,” he said.

Cargo exports through SAP rose to more than 129,000 shipping containers over the first nine months of the year, up 18 per cent from 109,000 during the same period in 2013. Imports meanwhile rose some 12.4 per cent during the same period.

SAP currently has a cargo capacity of 500,000 containers spread over 124 hectares.

Officials at the Phnom Penh Autonomous Port last week confirmed its plans to expand its cargo terminal by either securing a loan from the Chinese government or raising funds through an initial public offering on the Cambodian Stock Exchange.

Sambath similarly said the state-owned SAP would consider listing on the bourse to raise funds for the expansion.