Phnom Penh Municipality to Take Action Against Encroachers on Canals and Public Land

• 25 December 2020
• Local News
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The Phnom Penh municipality plans to take action on illegal canal and public land encroachment soon, particularly in the western part of Phnom Penh, after deciding to dredge and rebuild 12 drainage systems across the city.

The plan was announced in a meeting chaired by Phnom Penh Governor HE Khuong Sreng on 24 December.

During the meeting, HE Khuong Sreng said that 12 drainage systems out of a total of 37 will be rebuilt in 2021, although the government continues to face budget shortages due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The governor did not disclose the specific amount of budget to be used for the project.

“The soon-to-be rebuilt drainage systems, especially those located in western Phnom Penh, are currently being encroached on. When doing site inspections during the recent flooding incident, authorities have observed a lot of people illegally reclaiming land from canals. This is the main cause [of flooding],” said HE Khuong.

However, HE Khuong has vowed to fix the encroachment as soon as possible before the next rainy season starts.

The recent floods in October caused severe damage to infrastructure in Phnom Penh city, particularly in Por Senchey and Kamboul districts.

Nationwide, according to government data, the recent floods damaged at least 3,000km of infrastructure and an estimated budget of US$91 million is needed to fix all them. (Read more)

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