Cambodia begins road project with China's loan

PHNOM PENH, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia on Tuesday broke ground to broaden a 40.5 kilometer section of the national road No. 6, which is a major road for tourism and trade activities.

The work began from eastern Phnom Penh's Russei Keo district to Bateay district of Kampong Cham province. The road will be widened from the current 7 meters to 26 meters.

The ground-breaking ceremony were presided over by Prime Minister Hun Sen and Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Pan Guangxue.

Hun Sen said the project was to keep up with the rapid development of the country's economy and tourism sector.

[Thailand's] Good-Neighbour policy

Neda president Acksiri Buranasiri joins residents of Muang Ngeun at the inauguration of the Thai-financed road.

Little-known government agency Neda is helping Thailand by helping poorer regional countries

19/09/2011
Charoen Kittikanya
Bangkok Post

The name of Neda (Neighbouring Countries Economic Development Cooperation Agency) may not ring a bell, and most of us would probably confuse it with Nida (National Institute of Development Administration).

But Neda was established in 2005 with the aim of helping neighbouring countries in terms of trade, investment, land, sea and air transport networks, tourism and human resource development.

A public agency under the Finance Ministry, Neda, formerly the NEDF (Neighbouring Countries Economic Development Fund), has from the start granted financial assistance, soft loans and technical support worth 9.42 billion baht to 23 projects, mainly for infrastructure development in neighbouring countries.

Fourteen percent of the total has been financial aid, largely to Laos.

Major projects include the now-completed Chiang Rai-Kunming via Lao PDR Road Improvement Project (Highway 3), the Wattay International Airport Improvement Project in Laos, the Pakse Airport Improvement Project in Laos, a railroad construction project from northeastern Thailand's Nong Khai province to Ban Thanaleng near Vientiane, drainage pipeline construction and Asian Highway improvement projects in Vientiane, the Huay Kon-Muang Ngeun-Pak Beng Road Improvement Project.

Neda also provided a 1.3-billion-baht soft loan to Cambodia to improve a 131-kilometre section of Highway 67 connecting Si Sa Ket's Chong Sa-ngam border checkpoint with Cambodia's Siem Reap province, home to the popular tourist destinations of Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom.

Neda had agreed to provide a one-billion-baht soft loan to Cambodia for the route from Surin's Chong Jom border checkpoint to Siem Reap, but the deal fell through amid increased tensions between the two countries, so financing fell to the Chinese government instead.

Cambodia rejects Thai tender of road funds

Tuesday, 31 August 2010
Cheang Sokha
The Phnom Penh Post

CAMBODIAN officials said yesterday that they would reject US$41.2 million in funding for a road project that Thailand reportedly pledged to resume last week as part of an effort to warm relations between the two countries.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Koy Kuong said Cambodia would not accept the loan, as it had already financed the road project independently.

“We have not requested this loan, and we don’t need this money,” Koy Kuong said. “We are using our own budget to construct this road and the project is well under way.”

Koy Kuong’s comments yesterday marked a change in tone from his remarks on the Thai loans the previous day; when asked about the subject on Sunday, he said Cambodia “welcomes all forms of donations without conditions attached”.

Thai Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaungsuban said last week that the aid, originally promised last August to extend National Road 68 up to the Thai border in Oddar Meanchey province, would be resumed in view of the countries now-normalised diplomatic relations, the Bangkok Post reported.

In November, Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered the cancellation of all Thai grants and loans in the diplomatic spat that ensued following Cambodia’s now-terminated appointment of fugitive former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra as an economics adviser.

Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs deputy spokesman Thani Thongphakdi said yesterday that he was unaware of Cambodia’s position on the funding, but that Thailand “stands ready to promote further bilateral cooperation with Cambodia”.

SKorea to fund new road at Angkor temple complex

2010-03-01
By SOPHENG CHEANG
Associated Press

South Korea has provided $9.2 million to Cambodia to build a new road that will circle the famed Angkor temple complex and reduce traffic in the area, officials said Monday.

The 13-mile (21-kilometer) road will be closed to trucks to reduce pollution, noise and vibrations that could damage the ancient ruins, said Soeung Kong, vice secretary-general of the Apsara Authority, the government agency that oversees the temples.

Construction will start this year and take three years to complete, he said.

It will be the second road in the Angkor area funded by South Korea, connecting with existing roads to the north and northwest of the temples, said South Korean Embassy official Son Sungil. The first road extended south from the temple complex.

Tourism is a major foreign currency earner for cash-strapped Cambodia, which hosts nearly 1.5 million foreign tourists each year, mostly from South Korea, Japan and the United States. More than half of the tourists visit Angkor, a UNESCO World Heritage site in northwestern Siem Reap province.

The temples were built when Angkorian kings ruled over much of Southeast Asia between the 9th and 14th centuries.

Conservationists have long expressed concerns about tourism's impact. They say uncontrolled pumping of underground water to meet the rising demand of hotels and residents in the nearby town of Siem Reap may be destabilizing the earth beneath the temples.

Cambodia B1.4bn loan still on[- Will Hun Xen still accept Thai charity?]

29/11/2009
Bangkok Post

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said yesterday Cambodia's decision to scrap a 1.4 billion baht loan from Thailand to subsidise a road improvement project was the result of a misunderstanding.

He was responding to a news report which quoted Cambodian Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong as saying Phnom Penh decided to cancel the loan.

Mr Abhisit said Cambodia thought Thailand terminated the loan so it sent a letter to inform the government that it would cancel the loan.

He said talks were under way to correct the mix-up. "Cambodia thought we had cancelled [the loan], so they sent a letter to cancel it," Mr Abhisit said.

"In fact, the cabinet hasn't made a decision on the loan scheme."

The 1.4 billion baht loan to upgrade a road from Surin to Siem Reap was discussed by the cabinet after the recent diplomatic spat erupted.

However, the termination of such an international agreement requires approval from parliament to take effect.

Thai-Cambodian ties turned sour when Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen appointed Thaksin Shinawatra as an economic adviser.

Relations took a turn for the worse when Cambodia rejected Thailand's request for extradition of Thaksin to serve a two-year jail sentence and Thailand responded by threatening to review agreements and projects including the loan in question.

Mr Abhisit yesterday brushed aside former foreign minister Surakiart Sathirathai's suggestion that the government initiate talks with Phnom Penh to normalise the ties. He said the results of the meeting of the Thai-Cambodia General Border Committee (GBC), which concluded on Friday, were satisfactory.

Thani Thongpakdi, deputy spokesman of the Foreign Ministry, said yesterday the ministry received Cambodia's letter to terminate the loan deal. He declined to say if Phnom Penh's latest move was suggesting bilateral ties were further strained.

He said it was a normal practice for governments to review and if necessary cancel loan deals.

Meanwhile, the GBC meeting and the meeting between detained Thai engineer Sivarak Chutipong and his mother, Simarak na Nakhon Phanom, was seen as a good sign for bilateral relations.

Mr Sivarak, official of the Cambodian Air Traffic Services, was arrested on Nov 12 for allegedly stealing flight information concerning Thaksin. It took two weeks before his mother was allowed to visit him at prison.

His bail request is pending a court review.

Mr Sivarak is scheduled to appear in court for a first hearing on Dec 8.

China to continue its assistance to Cambodian infrastructure: FM

PHNOM PENH, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- China said it will continue to provide financial assistance to Cambodia to develop projects of infrastructure in the country, Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said on Saturday.

"Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen met Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao for bilateral talks and China will continue to support Cambodia to push economic, social and infrastructure development,"Hor Namhong told reporters at Phnom Penh International Airport after the delegation led by Prime Minister Hun Sen returned home from China.

"The fund will be used to build roads, bridges, irrigation systems and hydro powers, expand electricity on outskirts of Phnom Penh and also in rural areas to help poor and improve people's living conditions," Hor said.

Moreover, Hor added that the Chinese Premier said during the meeting that Chinese government will provide 100 million RMB yuan (about 14.65 million U.S. dollars) to Cambodia for its government to help develop and restore infrastructure in the typhoon Ketsana-hit regions.

The visit of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen to China this time is fruitful and brings benefits for the country and people, Hor added.

Hor told reporters that Prime Minister Hun Sen attended the opening ceremony of the 10th Western China International Economy and Trade Fair (WCIETF) in Chengdu, capital of China's Sichuan Province and also met with Liu Qibao, secretary of the Communist Party of China Sichuan Provincial Committee.

"Sichuan authorities also provided 50 water pumps, 30 tractors,10 trucks for serving agricultural fields. They also provided scholarship for training our officials and students in their province," Hor added.

China's gift to Hun Xen will have to be repaid by several Khmer generations

China agrees $853 million in loans for Cambodia

PHNOM PENH, Oct 17 (Reuters) - China will provide $853 million in loans to Cambodia for infrastructure, irrigation and dam projects to boost its economy and reduce poverty, Cambodia's foreign minister said on Saturday.

The agreement was clinched on Friday when Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao met Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen on the sidelines of an economy and trade fair in Sichuan, Hor Namhong told reporters.

"China continues to help Cambodia's infrastructure development, even though China is itself faced with problems from the global economic crisis," he said.

China will provide $593 million for 11 projects proposed by Cambodia's government in 2009, in addition to $260 million for five projects requested last year, Namhong added.

The money will be invested in new roads near the borders of Thailand and Vietnam and the expansion of existing links to the capital of Phnom Penh.

At least $30 million will be invested in expanding the capacity of the Phnom Penh port to meet the increasing demand of cargo ships docked on Tonle Sap River.

Cambodia is keen to develop new dams and irrigation projects to boost its agriculture sector, which contributed 34 percent of gross domestic product last year, followed by the tourism and garment manufacturing sectors.

An estimated 30 percent of Cambodia's 14 million people live beneath the poverty line, earning less than a dollar per day.

China is Cambodia's biggest aid donor, providing $600 million in 2007 and about $260 million in 2008, according to the state-run Council for Development of Cambodia.

It is also Cambodia's biggest foreign direct investor and has pumped $1 billion into the Southeast Asian nation this year.

(Reporting by Ek Madra; Editing by Martin Petty and Ron Popeski)

Cambodian PM visits Japan counterpart

13/06/2007
Australian Broadcasting Corporation

The Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen will seek assistance for infrastructure building from the Japanese during an official visit beginning on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Hun Sen will spend three days in Japan, at the invitation of his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe.

Accompanied by a 25-member delegation including Foreign Minister Hor Namhong and Commerce Minister Cham Prasidh, Hun Sen will hold bilateral talks with Mr Abe where he is expected to ask for further assistance from Japan for Cambodian infrastructure projects.

Japan has been the largest donor to Cambodia since 1991.

Hun Sen is also slated to pay a courtesy call on Japanese Emperor Akihito.