On the morning of Thursday, July 23, 2026, Minister of Public Works and Transport Peng Ponea chaired a joint committee meeting to determine the connection point between Cambodia’s Phnom Penh–Bavet Expressway and Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City–Moc Bai Expressway.
The meeting brought together technical officials from the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, interministerial officials and the construction contractor to discuss updates for interministerial committee members on the connection point and prepare for an upcoming meeting with the Vietnamese side. This was reported on the ministry’s Facebook page, although the ministry did not disclose detailed outcomes of the meeting.
Construction of the Phnom Penh–Bavet Expressway was launched in June 2023 at a ceremony presided over by Hun Sen, Cambodia’s former Prime Minister. The expressway was planned to cost approximately US$1.35 billion under a build-operate-transfer (BOT) investment arrangement with a 50-year operating period. Under the plan, the project was expected to be completed in 2027.
According to the study cited in the report, Cambodia’s second expressway would bring substantial economic and investment benefits, with an estimated economic rate of return, abbreviated “EIIR” in the source, of around 20%. The route would also become an important complement to Asian Highway 1 (AH-1), helping ease freight traffic between Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam.
By: ង៉ែត ពិសាន្ត
