Place
Bavet
ក្រុងបាវិត
Bavet (ក្រុងបាវិត, Krong Bavet) is a border city in Svay Rieng (ស្វាយរៀង) province, at an international crossing into Vietnam opposite Moc Bai.[1][2][3][4] Around the crossing lie many special economic zones (SEZ), factory areas that offer companies tax breaks.[5]
History
Bavet was a commune of Chantrea (ចន្ទ្រា) district under a Ministry of Interior proclamation dated April 30, 2001. It became a city under sub-decree 228, issued December 30, 2008.[1] The city has five sangkats (communes): Bati (បាទី), Bavet (បាវិត), Chrak Mtes (ច្រកម្ទេស), Prasat (ប្រាសាទ) and Prey Angkunh (ព្រៃអង្គុញ). Together they hold 35 villages.[1]
Border crossing
National Road 1 links Phnom Penh with Ho Chi Minh City and is part of the highway network of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.[2] The Vietnamese side of the crossing is Moc Bai, in Tay Ninh province.[3] Bavet holds one of Svay Rieng's two international crossings with Vietnam. The other is Prey Lavea, in Kampong Ror district. The So Nguon dry port is also at Bavet.[2]
A Vietnamese government report dated March 31, 2015, said that the provinces of Tay Ninh and Svay Rieng had agreed with the transport ministries of both countries to build two goods yards for joint customs checks. Each was to stand about 500 meters (1,640 feet) from the gate. Vietnam's deputy minister of transport said that congestion at the crossing had become more serious and was affecting trade between the two countries.[3]
By land, Bavet is about four hours from Cai Mep-Thi Vai, the largest international port in Vietnam. The route from that port through Bavet and across Cambodia to Thailand is known as the Southern Economic Corridor, an idea of the Asian Development Bank. The E1 expressway from Phnom Penh to Bavet was built with support from the Japanese government. In 2025 a Chinese state-owned company was building a new expressway along the same corridor.[5]
Special economic zones
Svay Rieng promoted industry by setting up three special economic zones, all at Bavet. The Manhattan SEZ, developed by a Taiwanese company, began operating in 2006 on 175 hectares (432 acres) and had 17 factories, with more under construction. The Tai Seng SEZ began operating in 2008 on 130 hectares (321 acres) and had eight factories. The third, the Dragon King SEZ, on 120 hectares (297 acres) in Prey Angkunh, was under development while the other two operated.[2] The province's factories made garments and textiles, shoes and gloves, mattresses and packaging, and assembled bicycles.[2]
By 2025 more than ten of Cambodia's roughly 30 SEZs were around Bavet. Three of them were approved in 2024. The Council for the Development of Cambodia had approved 130 investments in the zones, more than 50 of them near Bavet. The Japan External Trade Organization put the share of investment in the Bavet area from mainland Chinese and Hong Kong companies at about 80 percent.[5]
Chinese money had long gone into the area's main industry, garment making. In the years up to 2025, large investments also went into manufacturing that uses more electricity, such as tire making. In January 2025 Wanli Tire began building a tire plant worth 500 million US dollars at Bavet, its first factory outside China. It stands near a factory of the Sailun Group, another Chinese tire maker.[5] By one estimate, the zones being set up around Bavet would need about 50,000 workers once running. The government put the province's workforce at about 300,000, but Japanese companies estimated that only about 100,000 of them lived within commuting distance.[5]
Vietnamese was commonly used in Bavet in earlier years. By 2025 Chinese-language signs filled the city, even on its back streets, and some cafes had staff who spoke only Chinese.[5]
Population
The 2019 census counted 43,783 people in Bavet, in 10,688 households. Sangkat Bavet had 14,016 people, Chrak Mtes 12,588, Prey Angkunh 8,293, Bati 6,313 and Prasat 2,573.[4]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 National Committee for Sub-National Democratic Development, Cambodia Gazetteer: Svay Rieng Province / Bavet Municipality (undated)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Open Development Cambodia, Svay Rieng Province: Investment Information (undated)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Viet Nam Government News, Tay Ninh, Svayrieng prepare for one-stop border customs check (March 31, 2015)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 National Institute of Statistics, General Population Census of the Kingdom of Cambodia 2019: Final Report (undated)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 KrASIA, "China here, China there": Cambodian city reshaped by Chinese money (May 29, 2025; first published by Nikkei Asia)