カンボジアの物流を救う国道改修工事
IMPROVEMENT WORK ON A NATIONAL ROAD TO HELP LOGISTICS IN CAMBODIA
皆さんこんにちは。土木技術職新入社員の青木と後藤です。
昨年の夏に、約1か月間にわたり実施された、カンボジアでの実習を紹介します。
私たちが赴任した現場は、カンボジアの首都プノンペンから北にのびる国道5号線の改修工事です。この道路はタイの国境まで続くメコン地域の産業大動脈であり、そのうちの延長80km超の区間で、改修・拡幅工事、橋梁の架け替え等を行っています。当工事により、道路輸送が物流の中心である同国の経済の発展に寄与することが期待されています。
Hello everyone, our names are Aoki and Goto. We are new employees of Sumitomo Mitsui Construction in the field of civil engineering.
Today, we would like to share about our practical training story that held for about one month in Cambodia last summer.
Both of us were assigned to Improvement work site on National Road 5, which extends north from Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia. National Road 5 is an important industrial traffic route in the Mekong region, and it leads to the Thailand border. Improvement and expansion work as well as the replacing of bridges is taking place on a section that extends over 80 km.This project is expected to contribute to the economic development of Cambodia, where the logistics is concentrated on road transport.
実習が行われた時期は、工事が始まって約5カ月という準備段階で、職員や作業員の食住環境を整える工事、工事予定地の用地引渡し、また土工事ならではの土取り場の確保や土質試験・調査などの作業が行われました。自分たちの身長よりも高く生茂る草をかき分けながら、広大な土地での測量作業も経験しました。
Our practical training took place during a preparatory phase of the project about five months into construction. Works included handing over the construction lot of the planned sites with living facilities for staff and workers, as well securing borrow pits, and soil quality tests and surveys used in civil engineering. We also experienced surveying over large areas, pushing our way through grass that grew taller than ourselves.
5~10月は雨期で、天気が非常に変わりやすく、夕方になるとスコールのような大雨がほぼ毎日降っています。雨があがると辺りは一面水浸し。どこが道路なのか川なのか分からない状態です。突然の大雨もここでは当たり前ですが、洪水のようで驚きました。
Rainy season is from May to October, meaning the weather can change extremely quickly. Squall-like heavy rain falls in the evenings on most days. When the rain stops, everything is flooded. It becomes hard to tell where is a road and where is a river. Sudden heavy rain is a common sight here, but we were surprised by the flood-like conditions.
日本を代表するプロサッカー選手がカンボジアの監督になったことが話題になりましたが、現場近くのコートでは、仕事終わりに多くの人がサッカーを楽しんでいました。誰でも参加することができ、現地の方と一緒に盛り上がり、リラックスできる時間でした。
Sometimes conversation topic fell on the news that a Japanese professional football player became the coach for Cambodia National team. After work, lots of people would come to play football at the field near the site. Anyone could join, and it was time to relax and have fun with people from the local community.
休みの日には、当社が施工したネアックルン橋(つばさ橋)を見に行きました。この橋が描かれた新500リエル紙幣が発行されるなど、日本とカンボジアの友好のシンボルになっています。
先輩方の成し遂げた仕事の素晴らしさに感動し、私たちも社会に貢献できる仕事を世界でチャレンジしたいと強く思いました。
On a day off, we went to see Neak Loeung Bridge (Tsubasa Bridge), which our company constructed. It is a symbol of the friendly relations between Japan and Cambodia, with new 500 riel bank notes issued depicting the bridge and so on.
We were both impressed by the wonderful works, and it gave us the desire to take on challenges around the world so that we too can contribute to society.