Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, President of the Senate, has reaffirmed that Cambodia needs an independent waterway for transport for the sake of her economic and political independence.
The Cambodian former Prime Minister made the confirmation in his special message delivered on May 16 via the National Television of Cambodia (TVK) in addition to his firm stance at the closing ceremony of the Cambodian Oknha Association (COA)’s first conference here recently, in response to various comments among Cambodian extreme oppositionists and reaction from her neighbour, Vietnam.
Besides, Samdech Techo Hun Sen reiterated that the Funan Techo Canal project was originally Cambodia’s initiative, not a part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) like extreme oppositionists raised.
He also took the opportunity to suggest the 7th-mandate Royal Government of Cambodia break ground for the construction of Funan Techo Canal as soon as possible as it has many benefits ranging from time consuming for travel and t
ransport to useful irrigation system, flood prevention, better livelihoods of local people, and tourism promotion in the country’s southwestern region.
Speaking at a press conference early this month, H.E. Sun Chanthol, Deputy Prime Minister and First Vice President of the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC), said that the Funan Techo Canal project had been thoroughly studied by a group of nearly 50 experts. The project has very little negative impact, while the economic analysis and evaluation show that it will provide great benefits for the areas of trade, tourism, urban planning and construction and so on, he underlined.
According to the project’s feasibility study, the US$1.7 billion Funan Techo Canal project, which will be broken ground for construction at the end of 2024, is 180 kilometres long and 100 metres wide upstream and 80 metres downstream with two navigation lanes. The construction would take around four years to complete.
The canal will link Prek Takeo of Mekong River to the sea i
n Kep province crossing four provinces: Kandal, Takeo, Kampot and Kep with a total of 1.6 million people living on either side of the waterway.
Source: Agence Kampuchea Presse
