Sihanoukville, Cambodia April 25, 2023— The Second Project Steering Committee and Sub-Technical Working Group meeting for the AFD-funded Air Quality Improvement Program concluded successfully in Sihanoukville. Chaired by Mr. Ke Vongwathana, Deputy Director General, General Directorate of Environmental Protection of the Ministry of Environment and joined by members from the Ministry of Public Works and Transport and Ministry of Environment, Siem Reap Municipality and Apsara Authority, the project presented the recent progress made within each output and discussed the key next steps.
The project has made significant progress since its launch in May 2023. Achievements include the development of the quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) measures for air quality monitoring stations, the update on the emission inventory tool for the transport sector, including successful capacity building workshops held during the first quarter of 2024. The project team also presented the progress made on regulatory measures for vehicle emission control and capacity building plan as well as next steps on the low carbon transport strategy & investment plan for Apsara. The PSC also discussed the air quality initiatives being implemented by MOE, policy updates on electric mobility, which was presented by MPWT.
Ms. Shomi Kim, GGGI Cambodia Country Representative, said, “since the first project steering committee meeting, the guidelines and an assessment report on the air quality sensor and monitoring system have been developed. In addition, the capacity building workshops held in Phnom Penh and joined by government officials from all provinces have been very successful and engaging as participants were excited to learn more about air quality monitoring and calibration systems”.
In his opening remarks, Mr. Ke Vongwathana, Deputy Director General, said, “the air quality level in Cambodia is in the safe zone compared to the danger level set by the WHO’s guideline; however, the RGC has made more efforts to ensure the air quality standard in Cambodia and made it as one of the priorities of MOE as we can see in our recently launched Circular Strategy on Environment 2023-2028. He also thanks AFD for its financial support and GGGI for its technical assistance through the AQIP.
Mr. Kong Sophal, Deputy Director General, General Department of Land Transport, Ministry of Public Works and Transport, acknowledged the progress made by the project and thanked the team for the efforts in making sure that all components are being completed successfully on time.
The program will continue building its momentum and finalize its first output related to developing guidelines on quality assurance and quality control of air quality monitoring stations in Cambodia. Key next steps will involve progressing with emission inventory development, implementation of regulatory measures and low-carbon transport strategies and fostering collaboration between all stakeholders.