Cambodian province seeks direct link with Phu Quoc

Cambodia's Kep Province is looking for an investor for a port that links it directly with Vietnam’s Phu Quoc Island, the provincial government has said.

Has Sareth, chairman of Kep Province, said the tourist port is expected to cost around US$20 million.

Kep Tourism Department director Tep Houm said the port will help take tourists to ideal resorts in Phu Quoc, which lies off the Mekong Delta’s Kien Giang Province, in around one hour and a half on ferry boats.

Phu Quoc is expected to receive 2-3 million visitors in 2020, with 35-40 percent of them foreigners, according to Vietnam Ministry of Transport.

Kep Province has also been a tourism hotspot in Cambodia. In the first half this year, the province received more than 409,600 visitors including nearly 50,200 foreigners, compared to around 277,000 visitors and nearly 5,000 foreigners during the same period last year.

Sareth said the province disagreed with Japanese investor Rotong Development Group about the location of the port.

The group wanted to build the port in downtown Kep where it is crowded and the water is deep but Kep officials want to put the port five kilometers away, as it would be convenient for the province’s further development.

Sokhom Pheakvanmony, a Cambodian senior transport official, visited the province last week, but has not made a decision on the port's location.