Battambang, the city at the epicenter of Cambodia’s agricultural heartland that has long struggled to reward its farmers with profits and compete in the global market, is expected to transform into a regional agro-industrial hub, as new logistics development projects are being planned. Phou Puy, president of the Battambang Chamber of Commerce, said logistics challenges have weighed heavily on local production costs and sapped the competitiveness of agricultural exports including rice, cassava, and maize. According to Puy, recent investments in transportation infrastructure, such as Japanese government-funded upgrades to National Road 5, are helping to lower transport times and costs. Ngoun Ratanak, deputy governor of Battambang province, said the government’s 2010-2030 economic development plan aims to transform Battambang into a regional hub for agro-industry, with products processed and given added value locally before being shipped to international markets. The government has commenced rehabilitation of the northern railway line, which connects Phnom Penh to Poipet via Battambang, after the project was abandoned by the Asian Development Bank. It has also signed off a project to build a direct road link from National Road 5 in neighboring Pursat province to the coast, obviating the need for trucks leaving Battambang to travel to Phnom Penh on their way to Sihanoukville’s deep-sea port. (Source: Phnom Penh Post)