PHNOM PENH: The Techo Funan Canal project to link the river system to the sea route will be developed under the BOT (build-operate-transfer) contract, underlined here this morning by Prime Minister Samdech Moha Borvor Thipadei Hun Manet.
Cambodia did not borrow money from China to build the canal, but the construction will be conducted in cooperation with the private sector in the form of BOT, the Premier said while presiding over the inauguration ceremony of Cheung Aek Sewage Treatment Plant in Phnom Penh’s Khan Meanchey.
The Funan Techo Canal project has been carefully studied by experts for the benefit of the nation, said Samdech Thipadei, reaffirming the Royal Government’s commitment to building the canal to expand waterway transport, which is more profitable for the economy.
The Prime Minister made the comments in response to an article dated Dec. 26 of The Cambodia Daily which misrepresented the Funan Techo Canal project, stressing that his reaction was taken to protect the legitimacy of the Royal Government and its officials.
Samdech Thipadei Hun Manet took the opportunity to encourage journalists to respect the professional ethics of publishing true information from all angles and dare to correct it if the published information is false.
Yesterday, the Ministry of Economy and Finance also clarified that the canal project will be developed under the Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) mechanism, not under the framework of any loans from development partners.
The Funan Techo Canal is the first historic project in Cambodia’s waterway transport sector to connect the Mekong River system and the sea route.
According to the project’s feasibility study which has been already completed, the construction of this waterway of 180 kilometers long and 100 meters wide upstream and 80 meters downstream with two navigation lanes would take around four years to complete and cost some US$1.7 billion
It will link Prek Takeo of the Mekong River to the sea in 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.