IMPACT ON THE CAMBODIAN ECONOMY OF CLOSING THE MEKONG RIVER

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP78T02095R000800040030-5
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 18
• Document Creation Date: December 12, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 7, 2002
• Sequence Number: 30
• Publication Date: December 14, 1967
• Content Type: MEMO

Approved For Release 2002/01/29 : CIA-RDP78T02'095R000800040030-5,
Dir.-actora:tce of intelligence
14 Dece2.1be.r 1967
Li pact on the Carrbac ianx Econo;r`y
o'~G1G~azic,-i?~~iir,?1Ybia{! v:3'~
..Ixe r.ajor direct effect on the czu-ouian
econo:e:y if the I?f kong were closed to shipping
to and from Ph.noa Penh would be a short--tore,
petroleum shorta< e. This in turn would result in
a cutback in electric power production and in the
internal distribution of goods. some
ad just-~on lij in the pattern and volume of foreign
track would also be necessary but they would not
br. sic-nif.icant. v ith for ;i.gn technical a^::~i.' tance
CF :_ bodice could adapt it:a potroleur distribution
juste: to t tha clo=3inq of this 1:C'r'ef7n wit' in two t'..)
thA.o,:) lion 4+~s a .1 CaA-:i.)odia wore a.equ j rf d to cope
with the petroleur:, probl+.ei without forei'jn
Ikiote: ~Thi n morandum wao produced by CIA. It was
prepared bL, the office of t,oonoraic Research and was
coord Snate::l z v`,tt tote Office of Current Intelhjenee;
the ectirrateo and coneZuaiona roprosent t e beat
Judgment of th. Directorate; of IntctZZiJenae as of
14 December 2067.
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.Y 3
I10 F Li7... i~,~ ~..?'1l~l E
assistance, the tir:;e required would be considerably
longer and t hc. econnomic disruption pore severe.
They would not, however, prevent the raintenance
of essential activities such as food production
and distribution.
The inability to r-,ove goods through the port
ofc Phnor:: Penh would double the voluine of traffic
to be handled at ihanoufcvillo and exceed that
port's. current rated cargo handling capacity.
however, the shortfall could be abaorbed by the
rapid e: pansion of Sihanoukville's facilities and
by the use of alternative ports such as Ka:kipot or
,Kep, With the exception of tank cars and barges
needed to move petrol.eui , the rail and road
systems are now adequate to handle other foreign
trade cargoos (s(-,,e the r,yap) .
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The x iportanco of tho Mekong Rivera to C-u bodice
1. All but a negligible portion of Carubodia's
foreign trade moves by water through Sihanoukville
accessible from the Gulf of Siam, and Phnom Penh,
Which requires transiting the Plekong River. Rela-
tively orlual volumes of cargoes tran it both ports,
Sihanoukville handling somewhat the larger share
of exports, and P, o:t Y101h a slightly heavier
vale- e of imports (see Tab 1.es 1 and 2). Ships
which sail up the Mekong River pass through South
Victna,Lese territory.
2. Under the terms of a tripartite agreement
signed by Carbodia, Vietnam, and Laos in 1954, ships
flying the flags of the contracting countries, and
of the countries which recognize these countries
diplomatically, are allowed freedom of navigation
on the Mekong. Until October 1964, controls over
international shipping proceeding through South
Vietnam up the Mekong to Cambodia were minimal. A
South Vietnamese pilot and customs official accorm,--
panied each ship, but there was no inspection of
cargoes and cargo spaces. Under control regulations
issued by the government of South Vietnam 'in October
1964 and,, January 1965, (a) Corunist-flag ships and
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Table 1
Cambodia : The Volume and Distribution of Imports, by Port
1965-66 and January-September 1967
Volume in Thousand ,!etric Tons
Phnom Penh
Sihanoukville
Volume
Percent
Volume
Percent
Total
1965
279.0
51.3
264.7
48.7
543.7
1966
297.5
51.8
.277.1
48.2
574.6
`1967
(January-September)
252.4
55.8
200.1
44.2
452.5
Cambodia: The Volume and Distribution of Exports, by Port a/
1965-66 and January-August 1967
Volume in Thousand Metric Tons
Phnom Penh
Sihanoukville
Volume
Percent
Volume
Percent
Total
1965
313.1
39.0
489.5
61.0
802.6
1966
219.5
44.5
273.8
55.5
493.3
1967
(January-August)
144.6
42.8
193.1
57.2
337.7?-
a. The data in this table are unclassified.
SECRET
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Cambodia: The Distribution of Imports, by Commodity and Port
January - September 1967 a/
Military Metals and
Total Petroleum Coal Cement Foodstuffs Supplies Metal Products Other
Thousand Metric Tons
Total
452.5
180.3
14.0
101.1
14.2
0.5
24.7
117.7
z
Ph
'
0
nom Penh b/
252.4
174.5
4.8
0.5
17.4
55.2
07
C1
Sihanoukville
200.1
5.8
14.0
96.3
13.7
0.5
7.3
62.5
xj
oC/)
fi
fJt
Phnom Penh b/
ih
55.8
96.8
4.7
3.5
70.4
46.9
S
anoukville
44.2
3.2
100.0
95.3
96.5
100.0
29.6
53.1.
0
0
a. The distribution pattern for January-September 1967 does not differ significantly
from patterns for the same periods of 1965 and 1966.
'
b. Including
cargo in transit for Laos and petroleum deliveries to Kompong Cham and
Tonle Bet.
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ships and cargoes from Communist ports are prohibited
from entering. the Mekong, (b) South Vietnamese
permission is required for the movement of weapons,
an ,munition, and commodities of military significance,
and (c) inspection of all cargoes is authorized.
Communist cargoes now use the port of Sihanoukville.
3. Additional restrictions were adopted in
late 1966 because of the growing concern of South
Vietnamese and allied military authorities that
supplies were being off-loaded from Free World ships
into Viet Cong sampan-s along the Mekong. Since the
middle of Nove.nwer 1966, all Free, World freighters
transiting the Mekong River to Phnom Penh have been
required to sail in convoys escorted by South Viet-
namese gunboats. Four round-trip convoys a month
operate between Cap-Saint Jacques and Tan Chau near
the Car:Ubodian border. .South Vietnam permits a
maximum convoy turnaround time of only 72 hours
in Cambodia.
4. Except for temporary disruptions in November
1966 and October 1967, the additional restrictions
have had little effect on the volume of shipping at
Phnom Penh. Despite the convoy restriction, the
volume of shipments to Phnom Penh was higher in the
first three quarters of 1967 than in the first three
quarters of. 1966.
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5. Petroleum accounts for about seventy per--
cent of the imports delivered to Phnom Penh, most
of which are consumed in the heavily populated
area surrounding the city (see Table 3). Approxi-
mately,half of the petroleum is used by motor
vehicles. Another third is consumed by thermal
generators, the country's sole source of electric
power, and the remainder goes to househcalds, air-
craft and the railroad system. Specific data on
commodities exported via Phnom Penh are unavail-
able, but rice, rubber and corn -- Cambodia's
principal exports -- probably account for most of
the export cargoes.
Alternative Ports
6. During the first 9 months of 1967, the
.port of Sihanoukville accounted for about 400,000
metric tons of imports and exports, an average of
44,000 tons per month or about 1,500 tons per day.
Currently, Sih anou::ville is conservatively esti-
mated to have a capacity of 67,000 tons per month
or about 2,200 tons per day.*
* A port expansion program is under way, but
progressing slowly.. It was planned to expand
the capacity of the port to one million tons per
year by the end of 1967 from the current capacity
of 800,000 tons, but this goal apparently will
not be not.
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i a
thtc: first nine months of 1967 the
;total voly= of imports and exports moved through
Phnom Penh amounted to about 400,000 tons. If arl
of this traffic were shifted to Sihanoukville, the
vol.uine.required to be moved through sihanoukville
would be double the current volume and would
exceed rated port capacity by about 000 tons per
day. however, except for petroleum imports, the
capacity at Sihanoukville could be expanded
quickly and accoj,,mcdato the ivi; ort and export
traffic which normally moves through Phnom Penh.
(Patroleu ivport problems are discussed in
paragraph 12, below) .
8. The port of Sihanoukville has an inproved
natural harbor with no defined outer limits. The
rain pier is "L" shaped for use by deep-draught
ships and has a frontage of 935 feet. Small craft
use the breakwater, and lighters use the rock-
faced quay. Lightoring operations are conducted
from an anchorage area just north of the main
pier. There is an unlimited anchorage for deep-
draught vessels in an area northwest of Sihanouk-
ville from which lightoring?operations can )~)o
conducted. Etpansion of the capacity of the port
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in terms s of fix':d ?hore:Ud.e facilities is proceed-
iing lccrly. to:revor, the capacity of the port
can be o:cpanded very quickly by using a ship's
gear for unloading into lighter; and by importing
additional nobile cranes for unloading the
lighters and bar.
in addition to the two main ports or
:lihanou',.vilie and Phnom Penh, there are four
minor ports on the Gulf of Sian ---- Kar pot, t:ep,
Len Darn, and Ream -- which offer at least some
expansion possibilities. X:artnot was connected
with Phnom Penh by railroad in larch 1967, and
offers the greatest pro-miso for supplemonting
the port of Sihanoukvi.llo in the event that the
Mekong River were denied for shipping to and
from Cambodia. There is no anchorage for ocean-
going ships at Z:armpot, but there is linited
anchorage for e mall ocean-type craft. Cep is
cleared only by a secondary road, Ream by a road
leadizlg to the Friendship Ificsh?way, which connects
Sihanoukvillo and Phnom Penh, and Lon Dt,r is
located on an island.
Land Trams t Sillanolukville-Phroia Penh
10. The railroad from Phnom Penh to Sihanouk-
ville is not expectod to be completed until
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January 1969, but at present two mixed passenger
and freight trains travel each way per day between
Phnom Penh and Kampot, which has a connecting road
to Sihanoukville. The. capacity of this section of
the railroad is about 15 trains each way per day.
Equipment on the Cambodian railroad in not well
maintained and consists of about 24 steam loco-
motives, a few diesel locomotives, some 50
passenger cars, and about 480 freight cars. The
nui;+ber of petroleum tank cars is not known, but
in March 196-1 it was reported that an order had
been placed for 40 units. Altogether, Cambodia
has about 560 kilometers of railroads in the
western half of the country.
11. Cambodia has some 5,000 kilometers of
highways, of which almost half are bituminous
surfaced. The major routes radiate from Phnom
Penh and extend to most of the country. The
routes to the south of Phnom Penh have the
greatest capacity. Route 4, the Friendship
Highway, is the major route between Sihanoukville
and Phnom Penh. It has a capacity of about 8,700
tons each way per day and is the principal means
of clearing the port of Sihanoukville. Route 3
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fr!(1 1 ;,1:'-f N f1SS M
is an alternate road hic l ~110o server Ya-, .ot. it
has a Capacity of aLout 3 , t'O 0 tvn .' Traci: way per day.
Therc are about 8 , 300 motor trucks in t:,C civilian
sector acid 2,700 in the military for a total of
soms_11,000 units.
Ca c.iJ.t.1_ Gr~.~ to ? :;hnor, Penh. v:owever,
so: