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Cambodia is trying to downplay Vietnam’s concerns about a China-funded canal project that would link the Gulf of Thailand with an inland tributary of the Mekong River.
Prime Minister Hun Manet assured Hanoi of the smooth implementation of the project during an official visit from Dec. 11 to 12, said Jean-Francois Tain, his assistant on foreign affairs. Vietnam had been concerned that the project would affect its use of downstream water flows.
Hong Manet told Nhan Dan newspaper: “The project will not have any negative impact on the flow of the Mekong or other rivers, while maintaining a stable environment, ecology and natural habitats for biodiversity,” Thanh told reporters on December 13. “Cambodia has submitted several studies showing that the project will not have an impact on the environment.”
VOA sought comment from the Vietnamese Embassy in Phnom Penh about the project but has not yet received a response.
The Cambodian government approved the 180-kilometer-long Phu Nan Canal project in May. The project cost $1.7 billion and was built by the Chinese government for Cambodia. Belt and Road Initiativewill connect the coastal Kep Province with the inland provinces of Kandal and Takeo.
The canal is designed to be 100 meters wide upstream and 80 meters wide downstream, with a uniform depth of 5.4 meters. It is the latest infrastructure project funded by China after the $2 billion Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway and the $1.3 billion Phnom Penh-Bavet Expressway.
Cambodia’s total external debt is close to $10 billion, of which 41 percent is owed to China, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
According to Cambodia’s Ministry of Public Works and Transport, the planned canal will shorten transportation time between Sihanoukville and Phnom Penh ports and improve the lives of more than 1.6 million residents along the route.
Chea Chandara, Chairman of the Cambodia Logistics and Supply Chain Business Association, said phnom penh post Once completed, the canal “will be an important component in enhancing our ability to export Cambodian goods. Water transport is generally cheaper than land and air transport, and large volumes of goods can be transported via water without causing damage to roads or causing traffic congestion.”
Although Cambodia signed a regional cooperation agreement on Mekong River management with Vietnam, Laos and Thailand in 1995, Cambodian officials believe the Funan hydropower project is not subject to this restriction because it only connects Mekong tributaries within Cambodia and only needs to notify other countries.
“If we want to use these tributaries within our territory, we don’t need to ask for permission from the other three countries. We just need to inform them,” former Public Works and Transport Minister Sun Chanthol said in June.
VOA sought comment from the Thai and Lao embassies in Cambodia but did not receive a response. As such, Sok Folt, secretary general of Cambodia’s National Mekong River Commission, did not respond to requests for comment.
Phan Rim, spokesman for the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, said a two-phase environmental impact study had been completed, with the first part conducted by the Ministry of Public Works and Transport and the second by a water transport consultant.
“Based on the details of the study, the project will not have any negative impact on the country’s water flow, environment, ecology or saltwater intrusion, nor will it have any cross-border impact on neighboring countries,” he told VOA Khmer over Telegram.
Pan Lin added that the waterway “will help balance environmental sustainability” and create more habitat for fish and other aquatic life. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2024, he said.
Kandal Governor Kong Sophon told VOA Khmer on Monday that the project is still in the evaluation phase. The governors of Kep, Kampot and Takeo provinces have not yet responded to requests for comment on the canal passing through their jurisdictions.
Heng Kimhong, head of research and advocacy at the Cambodia Youth Network, told VOA’s Khmer Service that Cambodia should provide transparent impact studies to Vietnam and other regional stakeholders.
“Cambodia needs assurances that there is a high probability of stopping the influx of seawater into freshwater tributaries to ensure that freshwater ecology is not affected,” he said.
Sun Narin contributed to this report.
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