The Ministry of Public Works and Transport is meeting with engineers from the Shanghai Construction Group Co Ltd (SCG) to discuss the technical specifications and requirements for the construction of the Prek Talong Bridge connecting Chak Angre Krom and Prek Pra over the Bassac River in the capital.

Ministry officials believe that the bridge’s construction will ease the traffic load on National Road 2.

Public works ministry secretary of state Lim Sidenin said on January 4 that the meeting was to review the feasibility study done by the SCG technical team, focusing on the details and design layout of the project, which must serve the goal of improving traffic flow.

Also up for discussion is the process of connecting the bridge with the nearby road networks on both sides of the river, the total estimated cost of the construction project and other details regarding design options and technical standards.

Sidenin encouraged the meeting participants to provide comments and input in order to make the report as comprehensive and informative as possible prior to its submission to the ministry’s leadership for review.

According to Sidenin, the project will reduce traffic congestion across the Monivong Bridge and link Chak Angre Krom with National Road 1 to Chbar Ampov, strengthening socio-economic ties between southern regions of Phnom Penh, the new Phnom Penh International Airport and Kandal’s Takhmao town.

Officials in attendance at the meeting also raised a number of points regarding the dimensions of the bridge, such as widening the span of the bridge over National Road 2 and 110 in order to adequately preserve sufficient space for navigation under it.

Ministry spokesman Vasim Sorya told The Post on January 5 that the project for the construction of the Prek Talong Bridge across the Bassac River had undergone thorough study and it would be one of China’s highest-priority infrastructure projects in the Kingdom starting this year.