Regular ferry service between Kep and Phu Quoc may start as early as February

[CAMBODIA HERALD]

KEP, Nov 30 - Regular ferry services between Kep in southeast Cambodia and the Vietnamese island of Phu Quoc ["Koh Tral" in Khmer] are expected to start next year, possibly as early as February, an official from the Koh Tonsai Boat Owners Association said Wednesday.

Speaking at the recently completed Kep City Port, the official said a Vietnamese ferry service was expected to inaugurate the new route with vessels capable of carrying "about 40" passengers. With the voyage taking between 60 and 90 minutes, he said several sailings were expected each day in both directions.

The new Kep City Port is part of a redevelopment of the capital of Kep province which includes a new market, new administrative buildings, new hotels and new seaside recreation facilities.

Completed earlier this year, the new port is currently limited to fishing vessels which also provide passenger services to tourists traveling to the island of Koh Tonsai, a journey of about 20 minutes.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance already has a new customs house at the port and although a police post is also operating, there are no signs of any immigration facilities.

A Ministry of Interior official said the establishment of a new Cambodian border checkpoint for people arriving from and departing to Phu Quoc would require an official request from the Ministry of Tourism.

Kep, a popular resort during the French colonial period, has recently become more accessible to Phnom Penh following the completion of National Road 3 to Kampot, located 150 km southeast of the capital. Kep is on the coast about 25 km to the east of Kampot.

Phu Quoc, known as Koh Tral in Khmer, is also a popular tourist destination with regular flights from Ho Chi Minh City and Rach Gia, the capitaI of the Vietnamese province of Kien Giang located next to Kep.

In 1939, French colonial authorities ceded Phu Quoc from Cambodia to Cochinchina, the southern part of present-day Vietnam. The island is the site of a major Khmer Rouge massacre in May, 1975, when Pol Pot forces landed on the island, abducting and killing an estimated 500 Vietnamese residents.