Work to resolve impacts of the Funan Techo Canal project has been and continues to be carried out progressively. The team could already begin construction, but the contractor requested that issues involving residents be resolved along a longer stretch of the canal corridor before work proceeded. Economy and Finance Secretary of State Meas Soksensan explained this at the public forum on macroeconomic management and the 2026 National Budget Law, held at the Sofitel Phokeethra hotel in Phnom Penh on February 2.
He explained that route surveying and delineation for addressing project impacts had been completed in 2025. In the new year, work had begun gradually addressing affected residents’ land. He said the current impact-resolution work was within the project’s plan, which could see the project completed in 2028.
He stressed: “Technically, we can begin piling at some locations. But the contractor’s technical approach is for us to resolve matters with residents along a longer section of the route first, so that once work begins it can continue over a longer stretch rather than start and stop. We need to settle a longer stretch to allow work to proceed smoothly.”
As project background, the report described a 180-kilometre canal from the Bassac River to the sea in Kep, crossing Kandal, Takeo, Kampot and Kep provinces, with an estimated construction cost of US$1.7 billion. It described a BOT joint investment with Cambodian companies holding 51 percent and China’s CRBC holding 49 percent. Groundbreaking took place in early August 2024, with completion planned for 2028.
By: Nget Pisant.
