Cambodia plans to build a 180-km (110-mi) canal from its capital to its coast on the Gulf of Thailand, a $1.7 billion project aimed at reducing its dependence on moving cargo through ports in neighboring Vietnam.
Cambodia is pushing ahead with plans to link the nation’s capital, Phnom Penh, to its coast with a canal running 180 kilometers, or 110 miles. According to Cambodian leaders, 51% or more of the canal’s cost will be covered by Cambodian companies and the remainder by a Chinese build-operate-transfer (BOT) firm. Groundbreaking has been scheduled for Aug. 5.
Cambodia has thus far flatly refused to consult about the canal project’s likely transboundary impacts with Vietnam and other Mekong River Commission stakeholders.
Although Cambodia’s leaders insist the canal is a prudent investment in the nation’s interest, this review raises grave doubts about its economic feasibility and, secondarily, alarm over the environmental impacts inherent in the canal’s reported scope and objectives.