Cambodia denies information related to the Phu Nam canal project

Mekong River at a section flowing through Cambodia

On December 27, the Khmer Times reported that the Cambodian Ministry of Economy and Finance confirmed that recent information on The Cambodia Daily news site regarding the Phu Nam - Techo canal project was incorrect and inaccurate.

Previously on December 26, The Cambodia Daily posted an article on its website and Facebook account "The Cambodia Daily Khmer", claiming that the Cambodian government had borrowed 5 billion USD to build the canal.

According to that post, "a senior official from the Ministry of Economy and Finance (Cambodia) revealed that the Cambodian government has borrowed not only 1.7 billion USD from China to build the Funan-Techo canal, but also borrowed another 5 billion USD to build canals, ports and solve Cambodia's economic crisis."

The Cambodian Ministry of Economy and Finance rejected the reports as false and baseless. It criticized the newspaper for "having a malicious intention to spread false and unsourced information to create confusion and mislead public opinion to serve any personal interests or extreme political tendencies."

The Funan-Techo Canal project is a 180-kilometer-long canal that runs from the Mekong River at Takeo to the coastal province of Kep. In October, the Khmer Times reported that the Cambodian government had formally signed an agreement to allow Chinese companies to conduct a feasibility study for the project.

The article said this is a major step to help Cambodia's policy on China's Belt and Road initiative move into a new phase, promising to improve trade logistics for the Cambodian economy.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/campuchia-bac-bo-thong-tin-lien-quan-du-an-kenh-dao-phu-nam-techo-185231227112133063.htm