An aerial drone photo taken on Sept. 11,kalyan day night chart 2024 shows a container terminal at the Sihanoukville Autonomous Port (PAS) in Sihanoukville, Cambodia. Cambodia on Thursday inaugurated a 37.5-million-U.S. dollar additional container terminal at the PAS here after a 17-month construction. (Photo by Nitola/Xinhua)

SIHANOUKVILLE, Cambodia, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia on Thursday inaugurated a 37.5-million-U.S. dollar additional container terminal at the Sihanoukville Autonomous Port (PAS) here after a 17-month construction.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said the PAS, which is the kingdom's sole international and commercial deep seaport, has played a crucial role in supporting Cambodia's socio-economic development.

He said the additional container terminal with a length of 253 meters is capable of handling about 450,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) per year.

"This is another new achievement in the development of Cambodia's logistics and shipping sector," Hun Manet said. "The PAS is a main gateway for Cambodia's trade exchanges with countries in the region and the world, and we are transforming this feeder port into a regional logistics hub."

Minister of Public Works and Transport Peng Ponea said with the additional container terminal, the state-owned PAS is now capable of handling 1 million TEUs per year.

Ponea said the kingdom's largest shipping facility recorded a gross revenue of 66 million U.S. dollars in the first seven months of 2024, a year-on-year increase of 26 percent.

The port handled around 5.7 million tons of containerized cargoes during the January-July period this year, up 26.5 percent year-on-year, he added.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet (C, front) cuts the ribbon to inaugurate an additional container terminal at the Sihanoukville Autonomous Port (PAS) in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, Sept. 12, 2024. Cambodia on Thursday inaugurated a 37.5-million-U.S. dollar additional container terminal at the PAS here after a 17-month construction. (Photo by Nitola/Xinhua)

An aerial drone photo taken on Sept. 11, 2024 shows a container terminal at the Sihanoukville Autonomous Port (PAS) in Sihanoukville, Cambodia. Cambodia on Thursday inaugurated a 37.5-million-U.S. dollar additional container terminal at the PAS here after a 17-month construction. (Photo by Nitola/Xinhua)

An aerial drone photo taken on Sept. 11, 2024 shows a view of the Sihanoukville Autonomous Port (PAS) in Sihanoukville, Cambodia. Cambodia on Thursday inaugurated a 37.5-million-U.S. dollar additional container terminal at the PAS here after a 17-month construction. (Photo by Nitola/Xinhua)