Japan’s Ambassador to Cambodia Hidehisa Horinouchi and Asian Development Bank (ADB) Country Director Samiuela Tukuafu recently joined Cambodia’s Minister Attached to the Prime Minister and Secretary General of the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC), Sok Chenda Sophea, on a visit to the Bavet Industrial Park near the border with Viet Nam.

The CDC, which oversees foreign investment in Cambodia, organized the site visit on 19 May 2017. The visit provided insight into foreign investments in the special economic zone, the infrastructure needs of investors (including transport, energy, water, and sanitation), and workforce skills that are most in demand from employers.

The party travelled along the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Southern Economic Corridor Highway, and also visited the Bavet–Moc Bai cross-border facility. Both were financed by ADB under the Greater Mekong Subregion Program.

The GMS Southern Economic Corridor links Cambodia with six provinces in Thailand – including Bangkok, four regions in Viet Nam – including Ho Chi Minh City, and six provinces in Lao People's Democratic Republic. It also extends to Dawei, in Myanmar. The ADB-supported Phnom Penh–Ho Chi Minh City Highway is a primary segment of the Southern Economic Corridor. It was designed to increase traffic and trade flows between Cambodia and Viet Nam by reducing travel time and cost.

The project has helped encourage the opening of more businesses in the area, development of industrial areas, and creation of more livelihood opportunities.