July 18, 2024
PHNOM PENH – The inauguration ceremony of “Xi Jinping Boulevard”, named after the current president of China, will be held on July 19 in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister Sun Chanthol, first vice president of the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC).
The ceremony will take place at the Win-Win Boulevard roundabout on the south of the National Road 4 flyover in the village of Choam Chao II commune’s Chompou Voan II, in Phnom Penh’s Por Senchey district.
The Phnom Penh administration announced that traffic will be temporarily diverted during the event, with private vehicles unable to cross the section of Xi Jinping Boulevard from the intersection with National Road 4 to the southern roundabout of the National Road 4 flyover.
Traffic restrictions will be in place from 5am until the ceremony is concluded.
In a July 17 notice, the administration explained that the restrictions will ensure the ceremony runs smoothly, while also maintaining security, safety and public order, and avoiding traffic jams.
“We ask that members of the public who intend to travel through the above section of road please show tolerance and understanding and avoid this part of the road,” it said.
“After the temporary closure, traffic will return to normal,” it added.
The almost 53 kilometre Xi Jinping Boulevard serves as Phnom Penh’s third ring road. It connects National Road 4 in Choam Chao III commune to National Road 1 in Kandal province’s Kien Svay district.
Newly appointed Chinese ambassador to Cambodia, Wang Wenbin, took to social media on July 6 to say he was glad to have arrived at the Chinese embassy in Phnom Penh.
He noted that he had travelled along Xi Jinping Boulevard, Hun Sen Boulevard, Preah Sihanouk Boulevard and Mao Tse Toung Boulevard, among others.
“I’m ready to work closely with our Cambodian friends to take the baton and carry forward the proud tradition of China-Cambodia friendship. We will ensure our mutually beneficial cooperation is even more fruitful, to deliver more tangibly for the people of both countries,” he wrote.
In late May, Prime Minister Hun Manet and former Chinese ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wentian presided over a symbolic inauguration ceremony for the road at Phnom Penh’s Peace Palace, where it was named Xi Jinping Boulevard.