Could you introduce us briefly the Port of Sihanoukville and its main activities since it started operations in 1960?

Our port facility began operations in 1960 and the cargo that flowed through here grew well until we reached in 1967 a cargo handling of nearly one million tons. At that time it was decided to build another phase. The first phase had only one jetty and two warehouses. Due to the cargo increase there were three hundred meters of jetty added plus three warehouses. Between 1970 and 1975 there was a war and then in 1975, the Khmer Rouge regime came. We do not have much information about that period, but there was few activity in our port. In 1979 our port started operations again. In the beginning it was hard as we were lacking both heavy equipment to handle the cargo and lack of experienced labor force. Only three or four workers of the port survived the Khmer regime, all the management staff was killed by the Khmer Rouge. We got assistance from the Soviet Union and Vietnam, and in 1988 those Russian and Vietnamese advisors left and we started working for ourselves. Until 1992 the level of cargo was very low. Only in 1993 the volume began to increase as a result of the new elections. Year by year we kept growing and in 1999 we reached a volume above the one million tons. Since then it has been stable showing a slight decrease in 2002. But the current statistics are very encouraging; in the first three months of this year 2003 the volume increased 28 percent compared with same time in 2002.

Could you give us the main figures of the Port in terms of infrastructure?

The first phase began in 1956 building a jetty of 289 meters long plus two warehouses. This phase was finished in 1960 and then we started operations. In 1966 a second phase of extension of the port started adding 350 meter of jetty plus 3 new warehouses and now we are proceeding to a third extension with a container BASE? of 240 meters and 6.5 hectares for a container terminal. This phase started on April 2002 and the new terminal will be finished in 2004. The total amount of workers in the port is 1064 people.

H.E. Cham Prasidh has announced last December his intention to declare an "Open Sea Policy". What are the main expectations for the port out of this Government policy?

I think that this is a good policy of our Government. The port of Sihanoukville cannot monopolize the cargo system. Now is time for cooperation and competition. The users must decide what is the best for them. This will make us try to upgrade our service quality and try to offer lower services fees to remain attractive.

What are then your forecasts in terms of tonnage?

The port is changing its policy and that makes us hope that the port will attract more volume of cargo. As I mentioned at the beginning, during the first three months of 2003 there has been an increase of 24 percent compared to last year. We are doing everything possible to upgrade our service and give to the customer the value of the port fees they are paying.

So far, what have you been doing in order to get prepared to this new policy which will add competition to your port?

Our policy in the future will be to offer to the port user a complete transparent fee system. We are going for a flat rate no matter the time or the day of the year, nighttime, daytime, 24/7 365 days a year. This way, the user will know how much time it takes him to stay in the port and how much it will cost him. With this policy we will make the port user feel confident about doing business with us.

Another aspect that can bring you a higher volume of cargo is the future creation of the "Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Growth Corridor". What are your expectations in terms of business for the port?

The "Growth Corridor" between Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville is a very good idea. The studies for this project look very promising, Next to that, we also have, behind the port, 100 hectares of land we want to use as a Free Zone Area. This land belongs to the port and we are considering not to charge a rental fee, perhaps to leave it to private investors to develop it. Those two projects can create a substantial amount of jobs for our people and plenty of business for the port. We are quite pleased with this policy which we call a win-win situation; Cambodians will obtain more jobs, investors will have more places to chose to install themselves and the port will have more business.

Once more the port seems to have the opportunity to develop another activity for the port, namely the tourism. In their efforts to attract more tourists to the country, the Royal Government is trying to attract the Cruise tourism to Cambodia. What measures is the port taking to receive this kind of vessels?

Last year we had three or four cruise ships calling in, the tourism agencies had to prepare for months the arrival of a cruise ship to our port. Presently the situation has changed, only last month we had three cruise ships for which there was no preparation.

By facilitating their arrival, we try to attract cruise ships to our port. In terms of infrastructure, we are planning to build a passenger terminal. Currently we use the old jetty for passengers, but in the future, once the container terminal is built, we can transform the old one into a passenger terminal.

In order to achieve all those projects you want to develop, are you looking for investors or partners of any kind?

For the Free Zone or Export Processing Zone, we need private participation, also for some aspects of the port expansion. The port cannot support those heavy investments all alone so indeed for some operations in the port we are in the look for some kind of partnership. We need to study carefully all possibilities.

With all those growth prospects and projects to be build, how do you see the evolution of the port in the next few years?

We try day by day to upgrade our service. We want to make our clients feel confident with us. We try to keep costs down and quality of service high. By keeping this policy, the port can only develop in the good direction.

We have a few objectives; one of them is an increase of the container terminal by 160 meters more. We also want to develop the Free Zone Area with a pilot project to attract more investors. If these project is successful, we will develop the land behind the port which will be a good backup for the port. Another objective is to build the passenger terminal.

But above all, we understand the importance of quality service, compared with the other facilities elsewhere in the region, Sihanoukville is still very low. We need to upgrade our service to compete. We want to be members of the ASEAN Port Association. We study from them how to integrate ourselves with them and that is the priority.

As only deep-sea water port in Cambodia, you can say that your port is the main gate for the world to Cambodia and Cambodia to the world. What can you tell us about the evolution of the Cambodian economy from your position as General Director of the port?

In 1993 we started to deal with containers, before it was only general cargo handling. Two years back we couldn't handle containers above the 22 tons, now we get up to 64 tons. We are upgrading our facilities to support the economic growth of our country. Indeed we are the door to get in or out of the country. We understand that this is our obligation. Our performance reflects the evolution of the economy of the country. We have requested to become member of the ASEAN Port Association so that we can standardize our level of service.

What are the main products being exported and imported?

Garment industry is the largest sector for import and export. The most imported materials through our port are mainly cement, steel, machinery, fertilizer, sugar, bitumen…

Can you tell us about your career path and what has been your greatest satisfaction while working as General Director of the port of Sihanoukville?
I graduated in Ukraine, at that time still part of the Soviet Union. I was an engineer of port construction and water ways. I stayed there six years. In 1986 I came to work here as a port engineer. In 1989 I became the deputy director and from 1992 on I have been the Director of the Port. I am very happy to work here. We are lucky to have such good workers. It gives ma quite a satisfaction to work at the port due to the important role it plays in supporting the economic growth of the country. I hope the Growth Corridor and the Free Zone Areas become soon a reality and we create more jobs for Cambodian people and at the same time provide the right climate for investors to come here.

What would be then your final message to those potential investors that are looking to Cambodia as an investment destination?

Some people think Cambodia is not a stable country. I think otherwise. The Cambodian people understand that we must integrate to the world. We study English to try to make that possible. We want people to have confidence that they will have peace in our country, Cambodians are good workers and the labor force is quite cheap. What concerns the port, we are trying to assist any investor in order to facilitate them to come here, especially the Fee Zones will give them the chance to save on transport, documentation, etc…

And finally keep in mind that Cambodia is a Buddhist country offering a peaceful environment.