Cambodia's Special Economic Zone: Decade of remarkable transformation under BRI

On the occasion of the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, an achievement unveiling ceremony took place in Beijing on Tuesday to mark the development of Cambodia's Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone during the past 10 years under the Belt and Road Initiative.

Strategically positioned in Preah Sihanouk province, or Sihanoukville, SSEZ is a joint development project carried out by a slew of Chinese enterprises led by HOdo Group — a Wuxi, Jiangsu province-based textile and garment maker — and Cambodian enterprises.

As an important bilateral cooperative project, the special economic zone has been mentioned multiple times in joint statements and reports between China and Cambodia. In a joint statement released during Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet's visit to China in September, SSEZ was once again highlighted as a key player in the China-Cambodia cooperation mechanism in terms of production capacity and investment.

In the first nine months of 2023, enterprises within the zone achieved a total import and export value of $2.507 billion, representing about 7.13 percent of Cambodia's total trade turnover, compared to a mere 0.88 percent 10 years ago.

Since its inauguration in February 2008, SSEZ has seen rapid development, with the Belt and Road Initiative serving as a powerful engine for the remarkable progress, said Zhou Haijiang, chairman of HOdo Group and a delegate to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. This development has propelled SSEZ to become Cambodia's fastest-growing, most influential and socially acclaimed economic special zone, Zhou added.

Over the past decade, SSEZ has harnessed bountiful development opportunities presented by the BRI. It is now hailed as a major driving force for the province's economy and a steady source of employment for the local population through continuously enhancing infrastructure, improving production capabilities and optimizing industrial structure.

The number of enterprises settled in the zone has grown from 54 in 2013 to 175 today, covering a wide range of sectors including hardware and machinery, construction materials, automotive parts and tires, photovoltaic materials, medical supplies, luggage and leather goods, textiles, and clothing.