Sihanoukville (city)

Sihanoukville ក្រុងព្រះសីហនុ Krong Preah Sihanouk Preah Sihanouk Kampong Som
City
Top: Urban commercial center Center left: Road sign in Sangkat 4 Center right: Sculpture at Independence Beach Bottom: Koh Rong Island
Sihanoukville City's urban area (yellow) in Mittakpheap District (dark red) and Sihanoukville Province (purple)
Sihanoukville Location of Sihanoukville City in Cambodia
Coordinates: 10°38′N 103°30′E / 10.633°N 103.500°E / 10.633; 103.500Coordinates: 10°38′N 103°30′E / 10.633°N 103.500°E / 10.633; 103.500
Country	Cambodia
Province	Sihanoukville
City	City of Sihanoukville
City	1964
Named for	Norodom Sihanouk
Government
• Mayor	Eav Chanvatanak
Area
• Total	80 km2 (30 sq mi)
Elevation	15 m (45 ft)
Population
• Total	89,846
• Rank	Ranked 7th
• Urban	66,723
• Urban density	834/km2 (2,160/sq mi)
• District	89,846
Time zone	UTC+07
Postal code	18000
Area code(s)	034

Sihanoukville (Khmer: ក្រុងព្រះសីហនុ, Krong Preah Sihanouk), also known as 'Kampong Som' (Khmer: កំពង់សោម), is a coastal city in Cambodia and the capital city of Sihanoukville Province, located at the tip of an elevated peninsula in the country's south-west at the Gulf of Thailand. The city is flanked by an almost uninterrupted string of beaches along its entire coastline and coastal marshlands bordering the Ream National Park in the East. The city has one navigatable river, the mangrove lined Ou Trojak Jet running from Otres pagoda to the sea at Otres. A number of thinly inhabited islands – under Sihanoukville's administration – are in the city's proximity, where in recent years moderate development has helped to attract a sizable portion of Asia's individual travelers, young students and back-packers.

The city, which was named in honour of former king Norodom Sihanouk, had a population of around 89,800 people and approximately 66,700 in its urban center in 2008. Sihanoukville city encompasses the greater part of four of the five communes (Sangkats) of Sihanoukville provinces' Mittakpheap District. A relatively young city, it has evolved parallel to the construction of the Sihanoukville Autonomous Port, which commenced in June 1955, as the country's gateway to direct and unrestricted international sea trade. The only deep water port in Cambodia includes a mineral oil terminal and a transport logistics facility. As a consequence, the city grew to become a leading national center of trade, commerce, transport and process manufacturing.