Authorities in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province and Preah Sihanouk Province, Cambodia held a video meeting on December 17 to jointly announce an upgrade to the Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone (SSEZ).

The meeting also saw the unveiling of three new projects at the SSEZ - an investment by tire-maker Jiangsu General Science Technology, new schools and cultural event centers. It also witnessed the start of a telemedicine project between the Wuxi People's Hospital and the Sihanoukville Community Health Service Centre.

File photo of Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone.

According to the meeting, the Red Cross Society of Jiangsu, the Red Cross Society of Wuxi, the Wuxi Federation of Trade Unions and the Wuxi People's Hospital will support the construction of friendship schools and cultural centers at the SSEZ.

Some Jiangsu enterprises will also increase investment in Cambodia. For example, Jiangsu General Science Technology will invest $300 million for a tires project, which can create more than 1,600 local jobs and achieve an annual turnover of $340 million.

The SSEZ is jointly developed and constructed by private companies from both Cambodia and China, including HOdo Group, a key enterprise group based in Wuxi of Jiangsu province. Since 2008, the SSEZ has become home to 170 enterprises from the United States, Europe and Southeast Asia, which brought a total investment of $1.366 billion. The SSEZ achieved an output value of $3.57 billion and created nearly 30,000 jobs for the local community. From January to November this year, the zone’s total import and export volume reached $2.001 billion, an increase of 40.03% over the same period of the previous year.

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