The construction of Phnom Penh’s third ring road began on Monday, with the 53km thoroughfare estimated to cost $273 million in a jointly financed project by China and the Cambodian government.

The ring road will be built by Chinese company Shanghai Construction Group Co Ltd, with technical inspections by Chinese-based consulting technical firm Guangzhou Wanan Construction Supervision Co Ltd. Construction is slated to take 42 months, with the road set to open by 2021. It will link National Roads 4 and 1, and stretch along 15.4km in Phnom Penh and 37.5km in Kandal province.

The road, which will be 27m wide in the capital and 25m outside, will be built using concrete and steel. It will be divided into two lanes in each direction, with a 3.5m wide garden serving as a median.

The road will also include a motorbike lane and a pedestrian sidewalk on both sides.

The project will cost $273 million, which will come from concessional financing by the Chinese government, with a contribution from the Cambodian government dedicated to compensating residents impacted by the road’s construction, mine and unexploded ordnance clearing and paying royalties.

Phnom Penh currently has three city belt roads. The first connects Chroy Changvar Bridge to Chbar Ampov Bridge.

The second connects Kob Srov Road to National Highway 2 in Kandal province’s Prek Samrong village.http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/phnom-penhs-third-ring-road-breaks-ground