Officials on Monday signed an agreement in Phnom Penh for China to provide US$207 million of loans to Cambodia to develop its infrastructure construction.

 

Li Jun, vice president of the China Import-Export Bank, and Cambodian Minister of Economy and Finance Keat Chhun signed the agreement in the presence of Chinese Ambassador Zhang Jinfeng.

 

According to a press release issued by the Cambodian Ministry of Economy and Finance, US$190 million's worth of preferential buyer's credit loan will go for the construction of National Road No. 8 from Khsach Kandal to the Cambodian-Vietnamese border, the Perek Tamak Bridge, the Prek Kdam Bridge, and the National Road 76 from the junction of National Road No. 7 in Snoul to Sen Monorom District, Mondulkiri Province.

 

Meanwhile, US$17 million of preferential loan will be used for the construction of the Cambodian section of the Greater Mekong Sub-region Information Superhighway.

 

During the ceremony, Keat Chhun expressed appreciation for China's consistent help, while Li said he expected the loans to contribute more to Cambodia's economic development and the Chinese-Cambodian ties.

 

Foreign loans have been one of the major economic propellers for the kingdom, which altogether received some US$6.2 billion of various loans from 1922 to 2005, according to official statistics.

 

(Xinhua News Agency January 23, 2007)