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PPAP and PAS grow strongly in 2019

December 13, 2019  |  Source: Khmer Times

Experts speak at a panel discussion during yesterday's forum for companies listed at the Cambodia Securities Exchange.

Listed companies Phnom Penh Autonomous Port (PPAP) and Sihanoukville Autonomous Port (PAS), the country's sole deep-sea port, yesterday announced that they have experienced strong growth in 2019.

Hei Phanin, PPAP's deputy director-general of business and operation, said the company has enjoyed robust growth in 2019, with unaudited revenue expected to reach $22,403,780 by the end of the year.

During the first nine months of the year, PPAP's revenue amounted to $19,843,489.

Container throughput at PPAP has also risen rapidly, with the port expecting to have at least 2,435 vessels passing through it by the end of the year, according to Ms Phanin.

She was speaking during a forum for companies listed at the Cambodia Securities Exchange. The event was held under the theme 'Port Industry in Cambodia: Opportunities and Competitions at Cambodia Securities Exchange.'

From January to September, about 85 percent of PPAP's revenue came from port operations, including stevedoring, lift on/lift off, storage fees and trucking fees.

Ms Phanin noted that the port welcomed mostly container vessels, general cargo vessels, oil and gas tankers, and passenger vessels. "Compared to the first eleven months of 2017, during the first eleven months of 2019 vessel traffic rose by about 18 percent," she pointed out.

The port is expecting to handle 234,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) by the end of the year. Compared to the first eleven months of 2017, this is a 23 percent increase, she said.

Chey Sokunthea, marketing director of Sihanoukville Autonomous Port, attributed the port’s growth to a rise in the shipments of construction materials and garments.

She said PAS is expected to handle 600,000 TEUs in 2019, a 20 percent increase compared to last year.

"Sihanoukville's port, the Kingdom's only deep-water seaport, has great potential. It not only contributes to economic growth, but it also welcomes international cruise ships," she said.

In the next four years, container volume may exceed 1,000,000 TEUs, Ms Sokunthea said.

"To respond to the projected increase in cargo throughput, a new container terminal is being planned. It will have a 350-metre long berth length and will be 14.5 metres deep. It will be able to accommodate 5,000 TEUs container ships," she said, adding that construction is expected to begin next year and that the terminal will be operational in 2023.

According to Ms Sokunthea, 10 shipping lines have signed contracts with PAS to operate at the port every week. Those liners have routes that link to ports in the Asean region as well as Japan, China, and South Korea.