Cambodia opened a new special economic zone in the country's coastal area of Sihanoukville province on Tuesday in order to draw attentions from foreign investments.
The opening of the first Sihanoukville Port Special Economic Zone (SPSEZ) on the 70-hectare of land next to Sihanoukville Autonomous Port was presided by Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen and Japanese Ambassador to Cambodia Masafumi Kuroki whose country provided a 45 million U.S. dollars in loan for this project that began its construction three years ago.
Speaking at the ceremony, Masafumi Kuroki said: "The Special Economic Zone is expected to attract foreign direct investment for the production and the export of the manufactured products. Direct connection of the Port is one of the advantages of this SEZ by reducing the cost and time for transport of materials and products. High quality of infrastructure such as water supply and sewage treatment facilities in the zone is another attracting point of this SEZ."
"The image of Cambodia has completely changed from the country with a difficult past to the one with great potentials and opportunities. Cambodia is now drawing global attention as a new destination of foreign direct investment," he added.
He also said for quite a long time, Japanese investment in Cambodia remained at a low level but since 2010, more and more Japanese companies investing in this country.
In 2010, six new Japanese investments were approved with the total amount of 35 million U.S dollars and in 2011, 19 new investments were approved with the total amount of 75 million U.S. dollars, according to the ambassador.
Hun Sen lauded Tuesday for Japan's continued supports in both soft loans and grants for his country's developments.
And as the site is officially opened, he appealed to foreign investors around the globe to invest in Cambodia, assuring his country's improved infrastructure in addition to stability and peace.
The construction of SPSEZ began three years ago and it was completed last month. It is located 230 km southwest of Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh.
Hun Sen said this new SPSEZ will give jobs to 20,000 to 30,000 Cambodians.
According to the Council for Development of Cambodia, currently, there are 22 special economic zones across the country including those located along the borders with Vietnam and Thailand.