China Road and Bridge Corporation, a Beijing-based company, recently confirmed that it is interested in building a submarine cable system that will connect Cambodia to Hong Kong. The plan was laid out by the company's member of the board of the directors directly to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen during a meeting in Beijing on Monday. Mr. Hun Sen is in the Chinese capital as part of his official visit to China.
The meeting was made open to the press. During the meeting, Mr. Xu told Mr. Hu Sen that the China Road and Bridge Corporation is already well-established in Cambodia in terms of investments. Among the company's large scale investment in Cambodia include a coal-fired power plant and various infrastructure projects. Mr. Xu said that his company is looking for more investment in the country wherever the opportunity would arise.
In a statement acquired by the Khmer Times, Mr. Xu said, "The company plans to invest in a submarine cable connecting Phnom Penh and Hong Kong that will enhance the speed and quality of internet service in Cambodia."
In response, Prime Minister Hun Sen received the plans of CRBC positively. He said that Cambodia is happy to have a Chinese company that is confident enough to invest and help the country improve its internet service. He added that the planned submarine cable project is well supported in the country and that Cambodia needs more investment when it comes to the Information and Communication Technology sector.
Telecommunication Regulator of Cambodia spokesman I'm Vutha said that they are open to the planned submarine cable project of China Road and Bridge Corporation. As of this writing, only four companies are licensed to invest in submarine cables in the country. Companies that are planning to invest in this particular business venture are encouraged to strike a partnership with at least one of these licensed firms.
Cambodia's first submarine telecommunications cable was officially launched in March 2017. The project cost $100 million to implement and was dubbed as the "MCT cable" which stands for Malaysia, Cambodia, and Thailand. The massive undertaking was a joint venture between these three companies: Cambodia's Telcothech which is a subsidiary of Ezecom, Symphony Communication Public Company Limited from Thailand, and Telekon Malaysia Berhad from Malaysia.
The "MCT cable" spans 1,300 kilometers of optical fiber cable and has a bandwidth of at least 30 terabits per second.
