Toyo Construction lands ¥26.2bn Sihanoukville terminal build in Cambodia

Toyo Construction has won a ¥26.2 billion ($175 million-range) contract to build the second new container terminal at Sihanoukville Port, the largest project the Japanese contractor has ever undertaken in Cambodia. The Port Authority of Sihanoukville awarded the Package 1 civil engineering works, and construction is expected to run 36 months.

The numbers behind the deal are substantial. Toyo Construction will build a 400-metre quay, 35 metres wide, with a water depth of 16.5 metres — deep enough to berth mainline container vessels that Cambodia's current infrastructure struggles to accommodate efficiently.

What does the new terminal actually include?

The scope goes well beyond the quay wall. Under the contract, Toyo Construction will:

• develop approximately 200,000 square metres of container terminal space;
• dredge 3.9 million cubic metres and reclaim 350,000 cubic metres of land;
• construct 900 metres of revetment;
• build 12 buildings with a combined floor area of 9,389 square metres;
• deliver yard development, electrical infrastructure and equipment-related works.

A new terminal operating system will manage cargo handling, container storage, gate checks and transport services. Once completed, NCT2 is expected to raise Sihanoukville Port's annual handling capacity by roughly 450,000 TEU.

Why is Cambodia expanding its only deep-water port?

Sihanoukville is Cambodia's sole deep-water port and its main maritime gateway. Cargo volumes have climbed in step with Cambodia's economic growth, and that growth is now placing visible pressure on existing terminal infrastructure. A 450,000 TEU capacity injection does not arrive quickly, however — shippers facing congestion today will wait three years for relief, assuming the 36-month schedule holds.

The financing structure underscores Japan's strategic role in Cambodian infrastructure. The development will be funded through a Japanese government yen loan provided by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Three new container terminal projects are currently being developed at the port with support from the Japanese government and JICA, and Toyo Construction's latest contract covers the second terminal in that wider expansion programme.

Does Toyo Construction know this ground?

The contractor is not new to Sihanoukville. Toyo Construction opened its Phnom Penh office in 1997 and previously participated in the Sihanoukville Port Multipurpose Terminal Development Project, completed in 2018. That track record likely weighed in the award, though the Port Authority has not disclosed how many bidders competed for Package 1 or on what terms Toyo's offer won.

For carriers and forwarders serving Cambodia, the commercial calculus is straightforward. Deepening the quay to 16.5 metres and adding dedicated terminal operating systems should allow larger vessels to call directly rather than transshipping through regional hubs such as Singapore or Laem Chabang, potentially shaving cost and transit time on Cambodia-bound box flows. That benefit, though, depends on ocean carriers actually deploying bigger ships once the terminal opens — a decision the source does not address.

The award confirms a broader trajectory: Japanese-funded, Japanese-built capacity expansion at Southeast Asia's smaller gateways, with Sihanoukville now committed to three new terminals. If cargo growth continues at recent rates, NCT2's 450,000 TEU will land in a market that has already outgrown its existing infrastructure.