Secretary-General of ASEAN Dr. Kao Kim Hourn will participate in the groundbreaking ceremony of the Phnom Penh Logistics Complex (PPLC) in Kampong Speu Province, Cambodia, on August 31, where he will deliver a special address at the invitation of Dr. Robert Yap, Executive Chairman of Singapore’s YCH Group.
The PPLC is a joint initiative between YCH Group and Cambodia’s WorldBridge Group, forming part of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC)’s Smart Growth Connect and ASEAN Smart Logistics Network (ASLN) agenda.
As the second “SuperPort” under this platform, following the Vietnam SuperPort, the PPLC is expected to strengthen regional logistics integration, multimodal connectivity, supply chain resilience, and trade facilitation across ASEAN.
The PPLC follows the template set by Vietnam SuperPort, the flagship project of the ASEAN Smart Logistics Network launched in Vinh Phuc Province in 2020 as a joint venture between YCH Group and Vietnam’s T&T Group.
That project, which was a multimodal hub integrating road, rail, air, and sea linkages across more than 83 hectares, has expanded into AI-driven automation, warehouse robotics, and blockchain-based supply chain tracking, positioning itself as a flagship node connecting Vietnam, the wider ASEAN region, and China.
Cambodia’s version is expected to replicate that connectivity-first approach, extending the ASLN’s reach across another critical CLMV (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam) market.
The Smart Growth Connect Initiative, one of ASEAN-BAC’s flagship legacy projects, was first launched in 2018 by Dr. Yap in his capacity as Singapore’s ASEAN-BAC chair, before the ASEAN Smart Logistics Network was formally inaugurated at the 37th ASEAN Summit in Hanoi in November 2020 to support the ASEAN Connectivity Master Plan 2025.
The initiative reflects a broader regional push to reduce logistics costs, strengthen intra-ASEAN trade, competitiveness, and knit together seaports, airports, and inland logistics infrastructure across member states.
With the PPLC set to become the network’s second SuperPort, Monday’s groundbreaking marks a tangible step in ASEAN’s years-long effort to translate its smart logistics vision into physical infrastructure on the ground.
As Cambodia joins Vietnam in hosting a flagship node of the network, attention will likely turn to how quickly the complex can move from construction to operation, and what signals for further SuperPort expansion elsewhere in the region.
