Historic homes at risk from dam project

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Source: Khmer Times

The owners of seven historic houses in Battambang province have hit out at local authorities over a plan to move their 80-year-old properties to allow for the construction of a dam.

The houses are located in Prek Kporp commune, Ek Phnom district, near Stueng Sala Ta Oun river.

Thai Sitha, who often opens her home to local and international tourists, said district and provincial authorities have asked her and other residents to move their homes about 70 metres away from the river.

“They have asked us to move seven very old houses,” she said. “I have seen their map and three of the houses are located directly in the area where they plan to construct the dam. My house and the other three are not in that area.

“They asked us to move, giving the reason that we would have more space, but we do not agree, because we already have a lot of land and our house is 80 years old.” Continue reading →

Koh Kong airport confirmed to begin construction in early 2018

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Source: Phnom Penh Post

The Dara Sakor Seashore Resort, part of a $3.8 billion tourism project spearheaded by UDG, is located on 45,000 hectares of commissioned land. Facebook

The international airport to be built in Koh Kong province will kick off construction in January next year, according to a spokesman from the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation (SSCA).

Backed by Chinese-owned firm Tianjin Union Development Group (UDG), Continue reading →

Sathapana Bank merges finance with real estate

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Source: Phnom Penh Post

A man walks past the current office of Sathapana Bank. It is set to move into new headquarters on Norodom Boulevard in 2019. Pha Lina

Major Japanese companies are diving even deeper into Cambodia’s real estate and financial market, the latest being Sathapana Bank Plc investing an undisclosed amount into its new 22-storey headquarters in Phnom Penh’s unofficial Central Business District along Norodom Boulevard.

Sathapana board chairman Chang-Woo Han told Post Property the 22-storey building, which can house 1,200 workers and includes five underground levels, is slated for completion Continue reading →

Doors of dam closing

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Source: Phnom Penh Post

Homes in Stung Treng’s Srekor village lay dismantled in anticipation of the flooding caused by the Lower Sesan II dam. Eliah Lillis

More than 100 households in Srekor and Kbal Romea communes will be forced to brace for flooding when the doors of the Lower Sesan II dam are closed in Stung Treng province next month.

The villagers, among them Lao and ethnic Phnong people, have so far rejected compensation offers to relocate and are now at risk of being submerged.

According to Stung Treng Provincial Deputy Governor Duong Pov, the doors Continue reading →

Protests for unionist persist

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Source: Phnom Penh Post

Factory workers protest outside International Fashion Royal Co yesterday in Phnom Penh. Photo supplied

Hundreds of garment workers on Phnom Penh’s Veng Sreng Boulevard yesterday continued to protest the dismissal of a union leader at a factory that supplies US retail giant K-Mart, claiming he was fired for pushing the owners to respect a recent labour arbitration decision.

Workers Friendship Union Federation leader Bou Thet, who works in the machine Continue reading →

Kandal families allege official intimidation

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Source: Phnom Penh Post

Villagers protest over an ongoing land dispute on Wednesday in Kandal province. Ven Chhunhe

Sixteen families in Kandal have accused a purported Interior Ministry official of sending soldiers to intimidate them to take their land, though the official denied the claims and said no such dispute existed at all.

Soy Chamroeun said soldiers on Wednesday descended on land belonging Continue reading →

Dam’s consultation process concludes

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Source: Phnom Penh Post

Boats dock on the bank of the Mekong River in northern Laos early last year at the planned construction site for the Pak Beng dam. International Rivers

The consultation process for the controversial proposed Pak Beng dam in Laos concluded on Monday, allowing construction to begin even as local and international civil society groups continued to urge a delay until a forthcoming Mekong River Commission (MRC) environmental assessment is released later this year.

The MRC’s Joint Committee held a session on Monday to formally Continue reading →