The railway line connecting Phnom Penh to Poipet in Bantey Meanchey province and further on to neighbouring Thailand will be fully operational in 2018, with officials on both sides of the border saying it will be pivotal in bolstering trade between Cambodia and Thailand. “The new line from Phnom Penh to Poipet city is expected to be completed next year, well ahead of our previous deadline, which was 2020,” said Sun Chanthol, the Minister of Transportation.

 

“Now we are speeding up work on this line to have it ready by 2018, so we can have a railway connection to Thailand.” The line, generally referred to as the western rail line, has 130 kilometres that still need to be built or repaired, with the ministry seeking $20 million in funding from the national budget through the Ministry of Economy and Finance, according to Ly Borin, an under-secretary of state at the Ministry of Public Works and Transport.

 

Mr Borin also said that if their request for funds is approved, the project will be awarded to a private company through a bidding process. The section of the line in disrepair, damaged during wartime, extends from Pursat province to the capital, Mr Borin noted, adding that other sections of the western rail line have been fully repaired and are ready to carry trains.

 

read more http://www.khmertimeskh.com/5098315/thai-train-link-ready-early-next-year/

 

-- © Copyright Khmer Times 28/12

Hope this is true but seeing they don't yet have the money and there is no contract can't see it being early in the year. Why not get another loan from China.