The Ministry of Public Works and Transport said the Road Care Mobile app that enable people to report potholes has been downloaded by 31,470 people since its launch in late 2018, with a total of 6,600 reports logged.

Ministry spokesman Heang Sotheayuth said that as of the end of December last year, 4,5000 of the reports were “successfully” addressed.

As a case in point, on January 30, a Facebook user named Sophal reported potholes on St 271 between Chea Sim Samaky High School and the Stung Meanchey overpass in Phnom Penh’s Meanchey district to the ministry via the app.

“This road had just been paved less than a month ago after they installed drainage pipes,” Sophal wrote.

In response, on January 31, the team wrote: “We have submitted this request to the MT12 department in Phnom Penh to look into the possibility of fixing the potholes.”

Sotheayuth noted that the app is available on both Android and iOS and that the ministry will update it soon for users’ convenience.

“We are making some apps in addition to Road Care Mobile. Specialists are preparing to include road quality control functions,” he said, adding that the functions fall on technical officials.

“I can’t yet reveal the name of the new app, but it is the latest technology and has very high potential. We are scheduled to try out this app with our officials temporarily in late March,” Sotheayuth continued.

Reporting and sending pictures will no longer be problematic by the time the updated version of the app launches later this year.

Sotheayuth acknowledged that certain roads have suffered extensive damage and it takes time for them to be repaired. He said officials would first level the road out with a bulldozer before scheduling it for full repair at a later date so people can continue to travel on it in the meantime.

National Road 4, he cited as an example, reportedly had a great deal of damage, so the team went ahead and repaired the tarred road temporarily after receiving complaints through the ministry’s Facebook page, before full paving at a later date.

Another social media user named Samborn sent two pictures regarding road conditions in his home province of Kampong Chhnang and the team answered immediately and informed him that they have submitted his request to the department of public works and transport there.

Road repairs can be a complicated matter to address as they often concern specialised departments at several different institutions, according to the director of the Department of Information and Public Relations.

Sotheayuth said officials at the ministry have tried to inform the other relevant ministries and local authorities about any problems they must solve under their jurisdictions.

“Passengers have reported problems with roads and then expected that a team would go and repair it all immediately. In fact, the roads often pass through different jurisdictions or fall under the authority of different institutions, but still we notify the relevant authorities about these problems,” Sotheayuth emphasised.