Upgrade of Phnom Penh Traffic-Light System Begins

Work began on Wednesday on overhauling the traffic-light system in Phnom Penh as part of a $15.2 million Japanese-funded project to reduce congestion in the city, officials said.

The project will upgrade existing lights at 100 intersections across the city and establish a central command center, and is expected to take two years, according to the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

A laborer uses a jackhammer to drill into a street in Phnom Penh on Wednesday to install electrical cables that will connect the city's traffic lights to a single command center. (Siv Channa/The Cambodia Daily)
A laborer uses a jackhammer to drill into a street in Phnom Penh on Wednesday to install electrical cables that will connect the city’s traffic lights to a single command center. (Siv Channa/The Cambodia Daily)

Chev Hak, chief of the municipal traffic police bureau, said workers on Wednesday began installing cables that will link the city’s traffic lights to the new command center.

City Hall spokesman Long Dimanche said the next step would be to replace existing traffic lights with more modern ones with built-in surveillance cameras.

“These cameras will help ease traffic jams and capture crimes,” Mr. Dimanche said.

One of the main aims of the project is have an “intelligent transportation system” that is able to adapt to conditions on the road, according to JICA, as the current system operates on a fixed-timing system.

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