Inland Waterways

Historically, inland water transport (IWT) has been the most reliable and conventional form of transport in Kampuchea. Although it was thought before the 1970s that road and rail transport might replace it, it is now clear that IWT still remains the most important traditional and, during the y season-, most useful, mode of transport. The system, which consists of the Mekong river and the Bassac tributary, the Tonle Sap lake, the Tonle Sap river and its tributaries and the Bassac River, has a total navigable length of about l km, of which more than a third can be used through the year. the Mekong accounts for about 30 percent of the navigable waterways. The Tonle Sap river accounts for another 15 percent, the Bassac 5 percent, and other rivers 50 percent. Inadequate dredging and navigation aids have been impediments to increased use of these waterways.

NAVIGABILITY

ROUTES THROUGH VIETNAM

Navigating through Vietnam to Phnom Penh. The two main options are via the Mekong, or via the Bassac River to the Vam Nau pass in Vietnam and from there via the Mekong to Phnom Penh. The critical section for the Mekong route which is preferred by Cambodia is the river mouth with a depth of only 2.4 m during low tide and 4.5 m during the average high tide (allowing vessels up to 2,000 and 4,000 dwt respectively).

THE MEKONG IN CAMBODIA

For the 102 km stretch between the border and Phnom Penh, the bends of the river prevent the passage of vessels more than 110m long. For existing cargo vessel designs this probably means a limitation of about 7,000 dwt.

Boats up to 150 tonne capacity can be used as far as Kratie. Larger boats can be used at high water. At low water the 600-tonne boat can only carry 80 tonnes to Kratie while the 80- 130 tonne boats can usually carry 50-60 tonnes.

Between Kratie and Stung Treng (120 km) 50- tonne boats can pass without difficulty in the rainy season but at low water levels the rocky conditions limit passable to smaller vessels of up to 20 tonnes. Above Stung Treng to Veunkham just across the Lao border only small boats can pass some 10-15 tonnes at low water and perhaps 50 tonnes a high water.

TONLE SAP RIVER AND LAKE

On the Tonle Sap river the draft is about 1 m in the dry season but can reach up to 4 m in the rainy season. There is a water depth of only 0.5 m at the entrance to the Great Lake in the dry season however. Some traffic between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap for example goes by road from Phnom Penh to the Lake and then proceeds by boat. A high water boats up to 150 tonne capacity can be used between Phnom Penh and the Lake.

OTHER NAVIGABLE WATERWAYS

The main other waterway of importance for commercial river transport is the Bassac which links Phnom Penh with Chau Doc,the capital of Vietnam's An Giang Province. This can be used by 100-tonne boats and it also has a network of tributaries and canals mostly in Takeo province which can take up to 100 tonne boats at high water but loads can be limited to 10 tonnes a low water. Most vessels on this network are in the 20-30 tonne range and are used for trade between Takeo and the Vietnam delta area. There is a small international port at Kompong Ampil in Takeo province which is used by. trucks from Phnom Penh.

DOMESTIC PORTS

The most important domestic ports are in Phnom Penh and at Kompong Cham, Kratie and Stung Treng on the Mekong, and Kompong Chnnang, Chnnok Trou, Krakor and Siem Reap on the Sap river and lake. Thus the Mekong is important both for internal journeys between the provinces and for the distribution of goods via Phnom Penh port. Traffic is transhipped from ocean-going to smaller vessels in Phnom Penh.

PHNOM PENH

There are two domestic ports in Phnom Penh, situated side-by-side at Km 3 north of the city, sandwiched between Road 5 and the River Sap. The most active and congested area is the northerly one, run by Phnom Penh Municipality. The adjoining southerly site comes under the jurisdiction of the main Phnom Penh port, under MPWT.

The. site is a temporary one, to which the ports were moved in December 1993. The previous area in the city centre, south of Port No. 2, was cleared to make way for a linear park along the river bank. Earlier, in 1991, Port No. 2 was designated for international rather than domestic use, because of congestion at Port No. 1.

KOMPONG CHAM

Kompong Cham is one of the most important to in Cambodia, situated on a cross-roads of two main trading routes: north-south along the Mekong from Laos to the sea., and east- west between Thailand and Vietnam along the historic route via Siem Reap. It is growing quickly and is an important centre for the rubber plantations. Much of the transport to and from Phnom Penh is by river.

Apart from the Road 7 ferry, there is a passenger landing and a 10 m long pontoon for barges up to about 400 tonne capacity. During the dry season the pontoon is grounded and the river bank is used. There is also a warehouse with a covered area of 550 sq.m, said to have a capacity of about 600 tonnes. Across the river from the town,, on the left bank, there is some 5,700 sq.m of open storage area.

KRATIE

As Road 7 is very poor and indirect, most of the current traffic between Phnom Penh and Kratie is carried by river. Kratie is a provincial capital and another important centre for the rubber trade. The port has a 35m long pontoon, used only in the rainy season, and a 1,000 sq.m warehouse said to have a capacity up to 5,000 tonnes.

STUNG TRENG

Stung Treng is an important regional centre, located where the Sekong joins the Mekong and also with road access both to Laos (Road 7) and the Vietnam (Road 78). A ferry brings the traffic along Road 7 across the Sekong, but is not much used in the present security situation. The Sekong and its tributaries San and Srepok provides the only means of access to large parts of the Stung Treng and Rattanakiri provinces.

Some 130 vessels are registered in Stung Treng including about 50 in the range 10-35 tonnes. There are no dedicated port facilities, however. The river banks have to be used, or during the low water season - the temporary jetty provided for the ferry.

KOMPONG CHHNANG

Kompong Chhnang is on the Tonle Sap River, between Phnom Penh and the Great Lake. It has a fishing port, and is also a market town for a rather large -area on both sides of the Sap river, and lake. Much of the boat traffic transships between road and river, for journeys to/ from Phnom Penh.

The port facilities are congested, with a large adjacent market area, and the whole area needs improvement and paving. At present, however, the function of the port is more of a provincial one than a national one, as larger vessels cannot enter the lake at low water. CHHNOK TROU AND KRAKOR

These are important sites at the south-east corner of the Tonle Sap Lake. Chhnok Trou is in Kompong Chhnang province and Krakor in Pursat province. They are both important for fishing but also as transhipment points between boats and road transport for journeys between Siem Reap and Phnom Penh. Unlike the River Sap the lake is navigable the whole year and is. used both for passenger and goods traffic. Most of this traffic uses Road 5 to and from Phnom Penh.

SIEM REAP

The port for Siem Reap is located 5 km from the city and can only be used at high water. During the dry season the water level may be as much as 10 m lower and up to 11 km from the port. An access road (which is totally inundated at high water) then connects the town to the lake. A temporary wooden port is constructed at the beginning of each dry season but is destroyed together with any improvements to the access road as the water rises. There are also various mooring places along the access road for intermediate water levels.

The port is mainly used for goods traffic to/from Phnom Penh either directly via the Tonle Sap River or with transhipment in Krakor or in Chhnok Trou in the southern end of the lake. Some 12 passenger vessels also ply the route and there are some new express services for tourists to Angkor Wat.

VESSELS AND TRAFFIC

During the 1980s most commercial river transport in Cambodia was handled by the River Transport Company (RTC) a semi-commercial joint venture between Government and a private company The volume of cargo handled was about 80-100 000 tonnes per year (some 30 million tonne-km) carried by a total of 32 vessels ranging from 120 tonnes to 1,120 tonne. Although there are no proper shipyards wooden boats of up to some 150- tonne capacity are built along the river banks by local carpenters and are generally of good workmanship. Engines and other equipment can be bought at the market in Phnom Penh. Half of all boats currently in commercial traffic are less two years old. Almost all are operated by the respective owners with the help of employed crews. The boats are registered, inspected and taxed by the provinces in which they are based.

The volumes of commercial goods transport for the three main routes in Phnom Penh port are estimated as follows : Other commercial routes with lower goods transport volumes include Kompong Charn- Kratie, Kratie-Stung Teng, etc.

A few specialized passenger liners serve the routes to Kompong Cham and to Siem Reap, but most commercial passenger traffic is undertaken over short distances and by smaller craft. For vessels of 20 tonnes and up, serving the longer routes, most of the revenues by far are derived from goods transport The main commodities carried are timber and agricultural produce to Phnom Penh; and foodstuffs and household goods from Phnom Penh.