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The deep sea area in Kilo 12 village in Kampot province is where Bou Teap and other fishermen catch fish, crabs and shrimps.
But as port construction and other infrastructure projects continue along the coast, Tipu and others say the fishing culture has changed dramatically.
“them [developers] It’s filled in — it’s wiped out the seaweed and all the places where the fish lay their eggs and nurse their young, so there’s nowhere to fish,” she said, sitting in her boat while clearing trash from her net.
“[Now] We go deep into the ocean to fish,” Tip added.
The boom in coastal infrastructure, coupled with a massive influx of private investment into much of Cambodia’s southern coast, has transformed the lives of residents on Kilo Island 12 and beyond.
Beyond the price tag, the costs of these projects include significant environmental impacts. While officials say the economic benefits of massive infrastructure construction will far outweigh the ecological losses, those gains may be hard to realize for people living on the front lines.
For fishermen like Teap, a slew of new shipping and maritime projects have undermined their traditional livelihoods at sea. In response, the fisherwoman said her peers are now fishing in increasingly remote areas or migrating to other parts of the coast. Some are borrowing money from microfinance institutions to make ends meet.
“In the past, even if we didn’t go fishing for a month, we had money and we didn’t borrow from the bank,” she said. “When the nets were broken or lost, when the machines broke down, we had our own money to fix them. But since the fishing industry declined, we don’t have enough money – when the nets are lost and the machines break down, we borrow money from others.”
Such experiences highlight some of the trade-offs in development.
The Kilo 12 area is also home to the Kampot Multipurpose Port, recently renamed from Kampot International Port, which is owned and operated by Kampot Port Co. The port is linked to the Kampot Special Economic Zone, which is in turn entirely controlled by tycoon Vinh Huor, who owns dozens of registered businesses across Cambodia.
Since around 2006, the company has been gradually filling its sea area with sand to develop its facilities, and today the port is one of only two modern deep-sea ports in the country. In June, the company launched a $140 million expansion plan, the first phase of a transformation plan. The port is usually used for importing and temporarily storing coal, and some nearby residents complain that this causes potentially dangerous coal dust from the coal piles to drift onto their roofs.
The port company’s phone number is listed on the Ministry of Commerce’s business registration website, with a contact number from a person who said he had no connection with the company.
The coast of Kampot and neighbouring Kep province is fertile ground for the growth of corals and seagrass, with extensive seagrass meadows providing an important habitat for a variety of marine life. 2021 Field Trips The NGO ActionAid Cambodia has found some of the largest seagrass meadows around Area 12, where seagrass fields stretch along the coast where other major development projects are currently underway.
The intensive construction in Kampot is not an isolated case. The Cambodian government is in the midst of an infrastructure boom to boost overall economic growth.
Last year, the state announced a Master plans for 174 projects The plan describes $36.6 billion worth of projects. It includes a major upgrade to the Sihanoukville deep-sea port, the country’s main international port. It also includes the construction of the much-anticipated Funan Canal, a new shipping waterway that will connect Phnom Penh to the Gulf of Thailand near the country’s existing ports. In addition to the projects listed in the plan, developers recently completed a new tourist port in Kampot, which was built in Land donated by Vinh Huor And supported by the Asian Development Bank.
Environmentalists contacted by reporters declined to comment on the coastal development or the canal, citing the political sensitivity of the projects.
Matthew Owen, director of project development at Sideline Agents and vice chairman of the transport and logistics committee at the European Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia, said the expansion of Cambodia’s ports would help boost the entire economy.
“Increasing Cambodia’s capacity to receive larger vessels will increase trade with neighboring and foreign countries,” Irving said in a letter. “This will help boost Cambodia’s agricultural exports, increase employment and economic trade with the world, making Cambodia a major player.”
At the inauguration ceremony of the Kampot Multi-Purpose Port expansion project, which was completed on June 6, Prime Minister Hun Manet said the facility is Cambodia’s first port that meets international standards.
“The port will serve as a new artery for Cambodia’s maritime transport and will be upgraded to increase trade activities and exchange of goods, while helping to boost Kampot’s economic growth and Cambodia’s socio-economic development,” Mr Hun Manet said, adding that the port will contribute to local and wider job opportunities.
While these improvements are moving forward in the background, in 2022 another group called Kampot Logistics Port Company has also begun reclaiming parts of Kampot’s coast in hopes of building a new $1.5 billion port.
Although ostensibly led by businessmen Ly Yim and Meas Thom, the company’s registered address is a private residence in Phnom Penh, an address also used by Papa Petroleum and other companies linked to it. Timber tycoon Try Pheap sanctioned by the United StatesThe same property was also the registered address of a now-defunct organization called Kampot Multipurpose Port Company, of which the senator’s son Try Daphors was chairman.
It is not clear whether the company is linked to the port project in Vinh Huor, which now bears the same name. Hun Manet said in his inaugural speech at the operating port He changed its name by an official decree.
No one answered calls to the phone number listed on the company’s website, nor did anyone answer calls to Meas Thom’s phone number listed on the Commerce Department’s website. VOA’s emails to the company were also not responded to.
Back at Kilo 12, operations at the expanded international port are proceeding as planned.
Roth Vutha, a fisherman living in Kilo 12 village, said some fishermen have found work from the port, while others continue to fish in remote areas away from the coastline. Vutha said he earns between $200-250 as a truck driver at the port. Before port development disrupted fishing activities in local waters, Vutha said he made an average of $500-600 a month fishing.
“In the past, without a port, we could only rely on fishing for a living,” he said.[After] After the port was built, there weren’t many places to fish, it was all demolished. Anyway, if we worked on wages, it would not be enough, it would be difficult. The wages for port work are low, but if the wages were high, it would be no problem.”
To supplement his income and provide for his family, Vutha said he still fishes when he’s not working.
Government officials and provincial authorities did not respond to VOA’s inquiries in detail about the impact on fishermen, nor did they provide any environmental impact assessment report for the Kampot multi-purpose port.
Kampot provincial government spokesman Khun Usaphea referred questions to Deputy Governor Ung Chhay, who did not respond.
Environment Ministry spokesman Khvay Atiya briefly told VOA’s Khmer service that he would investigate the matter.
However, a spokesman for the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation said in a letter to VOA that the Kampot Multipurpose Port and Special Economic Zone will house factories and provide more jobs for locals. Spokesman Phorn Rim said about 200 people living in the area currently work for the port company.
“Some strong and not too old fishermen came to work at the port company, and their lives became stable,” he wrote.
When asked about neighbors’ health concerns about coal dust, Ream dismissed them.
“The company has been carefully protecting [against] “The problem is, there is protection during transport and so on,” he commented.
Ott Ladin, a program coordinator for the advocacy group Cambodia Youth Network, told VOA that developments that help the economy can be positive, but any new plans should consider the impact on people and the environment.
“To prevent people [treated] Unfair development and reduce the destruction of biodiversity or damage to local ecosystems, environmental impact assessment [should] Be assured,” he said.
“Development partners such as businesses and the Royal Government should work together to demonstrate transparency and efficiency in projects with the participation of local people.”
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