Poipet

Poipet (Khmer: ក្រុងប៉ោយប៉ែត) is a Cambodian boomtown on the Cambodia/Thailand border, in Poipet district, Banteay Meanchey Province. It is a key crossing point between the two countries, and also extremely popular as a gambling destination as gambling is popular, but illegal in Thailand.

For the municipality, see Poipet Municipality.
Poipet

ក្រុងប៉ោយប៉ែត
City
Poipet skyline
Poipet
Location of Poipet, Cambodia
Coordinates: 13°39′N 102°34′E
Country Cambodia
ProvinceBanteay Meanchey Province
DistrictPoipet
Government
 • TypeCity
Population
 (2019)[1]
 • Total98,934
Time zoneUTC+7 (Cambodia)

Poipet is adjacent to the town of Aranya Pratet on the Thai side of the border, the town came into existence only quite recently for the express purpose of border trade, Sisophon had always been the primary urban center in what had been an agricultural area. Poipet's population has increased from 43,366 in the 1998 census to 89,549 in the 2008 census, making it the 4th most populous settlement in Cambodia just ahead of Sihanoukville and larger than its provincial capital Sisophon.[2]

Transport

The Poipet border is a terminus of the Cambodia railway system, though in 2006 restoring of a link from Poipet to the present Cambodian Railways railhead at Sisophon was proposed. In the fall of 2008, an agreement was prepared to have an Australian company carry out this work.[3] In 2009, Thailand passed legislation to build extend the railway from Aranyaprathet to Poipet, and in 2018 the railway line has been reactivated.

Casinos in the city

There is a strip of casinos and hotels between the Cambodian and Thai passport control counters, enabling Thais and other foreigners to gamble in Cambodia without needing to go through Cambodian immigration. In Cambodia, gambling is illegal for Cambodian citizens but not for holders of foreign passports. There is another border on the Cambodian side of this strip area that one needs to pass before being free to travel within the rest of the country.

  • Poipet border crossing into Cambodia
  • Poipet during sunset
  • Casino and street scape

References
  1. "General Population Census of the Kingdom of Cambodia 2019 – Final Results" (PDF). National Institute of Statistics. Ministry of Planning. 26 January 2021. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  2. "Cambodia: Provinces, Districts, Cities, Communes, City Districts - Population Statistics in Maps and Charts". www.citypopulation.de.
  3. Ailing railway set for upgrade. The Phnom Penh Post, Wednesday, 29 October 2008.

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