PHNOM PENH, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's two state-owned ports - Sihanoukville Autonomous Port (PAS) and Phnom Penh Autonomous Port (PPAP) - have seen remarkable growth in profits in 2018, a Transport Ministry's annual report showed on Thursday.

PAS, the kingdom's largest seaport, made a net profit of 8.97 million U.S. dollars last year, up 43 percent compared to a year earlier, said the report released at the end of the ministry's annual conference.

The listed seaport handled 537,107 twenty-foot-equivalent units, or TEUs (standard-sized containers), last year, up 17 percent compared to the year before, it said, adding that containerized cargo tonnage increased 19 percent to almost 5.2 million tons.

According to the report, the listed PPAP, which is the country's second largest container hub, recorded a net profit of 7.35 million U.S. dollars in 2018, up 36 percent compared to 2017.

The freshwater port received 205,000 TEUs last year, up 11 percent year-on-year, it said, adding that containerized cargo tonnage rose 3.7 percent to 2.9 million tons.

Transport Minister Sun Chanthol said to further boost the handling capacity of the two ports, the country would start the construction of a new container terminal at each port this year.

"One new container terminal, with a length of 350 meters and a depth of 14.5 meters, will be built at the PAS at the cost of 203 million U.S. dollars, and the other one will be constructed at the PPAP," he said at the closing ceremony of the annual conference.