Before 6 o’clock in the morning, Cambodian youth have already woken up and washed up, preparing breakfast for themselves and their wives. He needs to ride his newly purchased motorcycle before 7 o’clock, rush to the company for shift handover, and start his day’s work – conducting road inspections along the Jingang Expressway to assist in handling various accidents and unexpected situations that occur on the highway.
The Jin Gang Expressway connects the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh with the country’s largest port, Sihanoukville Port. It was invested and constructed by China Road and Bridge Corporation and is the first expressway in Cambodian history. Zhenli is one of the first batch of road managers on the Jingang Expressway. He said that driving back and forth on the highway every day is his happiest thing. “This road is so beautiful, I don’t feel tired no matter how I walk. I really wish there were more roads like this in Cambodia, preferably built to my hometown
Zhenli’s hometown is in Ratanakiri Province in northeastern Cambodia, with complex terrain and rugged roads, making it very inconvenient for people to travel. Zhenli used to make a living by washing motorcycles for others in his hometown, earning only about $100 a month. The family’s livelihood was so heavy that he couldn’t lift his head.
In 2020, recommended by a friend, Zhenli came to the construction site of Jingang Expressway to apply as a small car driver, and her income increased several times. In 2022, when the Jingang Expressway entered the operational phase, he signed up for a road administrator training course. He said that highways are the future of Cambodia’s development, and this is the best choice he has made for his family.
Zhenli recalled that when he first became a road official, he often got flustered and sometimes recorded mixed up processing procedures or miscalculated loss accounts. At this time, Zhenli would seek help from his Chinese master, Rui Jun, the captain of the road patrol team and a Chinese employee. The master would patiently explain the requirements and standard procedures for highway management to him every time.
Everything on the highway is new to me. I need to learn more knowledge and accumulate more experience in order to make the highway my own path.
With the dedicated work of Zhenli and colleagues, the Jingang Expressway has been running smoothly and safely for over 900 days, serving the public more than 12 million times in total. This highway has shortened the travel time from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville Port from over 5 hours to less than 2 hours, greatly facilitating the lives, logistics, and tourism development of people in both places.
Like in Zhenli, the lives of thousands of Cambodian families have been changed by highways.
Fang Xisheng, General Manager of Cambodia Golden Port Expressway Co., Ltd., introduced that during the construction period, the Golden Port Expressway created over 10000 job opportunities and achieved local procurement of over 200 million US dollars. During the operation period, it also created over 2000 job opportunities through direct employment and indirect services. Not only that, the company has also promoted 21 outstanding local employees to management positions. They not only play an important role in the high-quality operation of the Jin Gang Expressway, but also become a talent reserve for Cambodia’s future development of the expressway industry.
As night fell, Zhenli handed over the patrol vehicles, equipment, and records to his night shift colleagues. His wife, who was helping with the kitchen in the company cafeteria, was already waiting for him by the motorcycle. The two of them went home from work together and had to call their children who were far away in their hometown at night.
Zhenli’s home is not far from the highway, and sometimes the sound of traffic on the highway can be heard in the house. To be honest, this kind of voice makes him feel at ease. Because of these, our family’s life can take off on the highway