PHNOM PENH, Jan. 14 Kyodo - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Wednesday that new 500 riel (about $0.125) banknotes with images of two bridges donated by Japan on them will be circulated in the Southeast Asian country for official use starting the same day.
Hun Sen made the announcement at a ceremony to connect parts of one of the bridges across Mekong River in Cambodia, located at Neak Loeung Ferry crossing point, about 60 kilometers southeast of Phnom Penh.
One side of the new notes shows a portrait of Cambodia’s King Norodom Sihamoni and the other side has images of two Japan-funded bridges “Tsubasa” and “Kizuna,” both built across parts of Mekong River.
“Today, in order to show friendship and cooperation between Cambodia and Japan, the government of Cambodia announces the start of official circulation of 500 riel notes,” Hun Sen said.
He added that he was pleased to present the new note to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe through Parliamentary Vice Foreign Minister Kazuyuki Nakane, who attended the ceremony, and urged Japanese tourists to use the new note.
Hun Sen also said he was happy to accept the Japanese government’s suggestion to name the new bridge Tsubasa, which in Japanese means a bird’s wings.
Speaking at the ceremony, Nakane said the new bridge will help facilitate the livelihood of the Cambodian people.
Once completed, the 2,200-meter Tsubasa bridge will be the first suspending and the longest bridge across the Mekong River in Cambodia. Its construction began in February 2011, with Japan’s grant assistance amounting to $127 million, and it is set for official inauguration and use before the Cambodian New Year in April.
Since the early 1990s, Japan has provided billions of dollars to war-torn Cambodia for peace, rehabilitation and infrastructure development.
The Tsubasa bridge is the third large-scale bridge donated so far by Japan after the Cambodia-Japan Friendship Bridge built across Tonle Sap River in Phnom Penh and the Kizuna bridge across Mekong River in Cambodia’s eastern province f Kompong Cham.
==Kyodo