Government to Strengthen Mineral Resource Management for State Projects

• 6 July 2020
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The government is strengthening royalty collections and management of mineral resources used for state infrastructure projects, according to a new inter-ministerial Prakas on 01 July.

Signed by HE Aun Pornmoniroth, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, and HE Suy Sem, Minister of Mines and Energy, the enforcement of this Prakas covers the entire operation of mining resources used to supply state infrastructure projects nationwide.

Those state projects include roads, bridges, water irrigation systems, hydropower dam stations and other similar infrastructure projects. Meanwhile, the mining resources considered as construction materials include but are not limited to stone, gravel, sand, laterite, and excavated soil, among others.

Director-General of Mines and MME spokesman Yos Monirath told Construction & Property Magazine that the objective of the Prakas is to show the data of construction mineral resources used for state infrastructure projects and to enhance royalty collections.

“Through the Prakas, we want to show the specific data on royalties collected from the usage of mineral resources used as construction materials. We want to separate construction mineral resources used for state projects, from private projects. More importantly, we want to effectively control and manage the royalty income collection,” Mr Yos said.

According to the Prakas, for all uses of construction mineral resources in state projects, the state is borne to pay royalties and those state projects are mostly implemented by the Ministry of Rural Development, the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, and donor-funded projects from developing partners such as the Asia Development Bank (ADB).

“Currently, entities registered at the Ministry of Mines are more than 300. This number does not include the small-scale entities registered at provincial department of mines and energy, said Mr Yos.

According to the Prakas, all entities that directly use construction mineral resources in state-owned infrastructure projects, whether public or private, must have a mineral resource license as stipulated by the Law on Mineral Resource Management and Exploitation.

Those are required to declare the royalties and royalty payments on the price of mineral resources to the state in accordance with laws and other legal regulations.

The same source also stated that Cambodia received about US$21 million in non-tax revenue from the mining sector in 2019, up 5% from 2018.

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