The National Road 48 reconstruction and improvement project, which connects the coastal provinces of Preah Sihanouk and Koh Kong, will break ground at the beginning of November with a budget of more than $78 million under concessional financing from South Korea.

According to Minister of Public Works and Transport Sun Chanthol, the construction contract was signed on August 23 between the ministry and construction firm ILSUNG & HANIL Joint Venture at the transport ministry.

Chanthol said the project will cost more than $78,398,000 and will be built by the South Korean company and technically supervised by KCI & KECC Joint Venture.

National Road 48 is 148km long, stretching from the Chamkar Luong area in Sre Ambel district to Khemarak Phoumin town of Koh Kong province.

Chanthol said the road is part of the ASEAN Highway 123, which links Cambodia to Thailand and continues east into Myanmar to Dawei port on the Andaman sea.

He said there are four special economic zones (SEZ) along the road – Koh Kong SEZ, Suoy Chheng SEZ, Kiri Sakor Koh Kong SEZ, and Ratana SEZ – as well as the Kiri Sakor tourist attraction.

“The project is expected to improve travel safety, reduce travel time and costs, and improve road safety by adjusting curves and the road’s steep slopes. It will boost the potential of tourism and economic development in the region, especially with neighbouring countries,” the ministry said.

According to the ministry, the project will be completed in 32 months, starting on November 1 and scheduled for completion in early July 2024.