Aid and development

Some 100,000 prospective patients could lose opportunity for eye care due to Australia scaling back its foreign aid budget. But as Fred Hollows and other Australian NGOs brace themselves for the cuts, the Australian government is forging ahead with a $40 million scheme to relocate ...

A court prosecutor and a squadron of police will today descend on a hectare of land in Phnom Penh in order to properly divide it among 163 families who claim that one woman monopolized the plot after they won it in a land dispute, an ...

In its first annual review of efforts by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to make amends for the thousands of Cambodian families hurt by a railway project the lender is funding, the bank’s Compliance Review Panel said it was making progress on five of six ...

Korea will use its first Official Development Assistance (ODA) for the preservation and restoration of foreign cultural properties to restore ancient Cambodian temples. According to the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), Korea will invest $4 million in ODA to Preah ...

With 35 nations signing on as founding members, Beijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has a reported US$50 billion foundation from which it plans to spur infrastructure growth in developing Asian countries with projects that include hydroelectric facilities.​ ...

Cambodia on Monday inaugurated the Japan-funded Tsubasa Bridge across the Mekong River. The suspension bridge, built at a cost of ¥119.4 million, allows National Route 1 to cross the Mekong River. At 2,215 meters, it is the longest bridge in Cambodia. ...

Before the sun casts its light on the Neak Loeung ferry port every morning, commuters begin arriving in buses and cars, on motorbikes and horse-carts. At the crest of the riverbank, chains slung between concrete pillars bring them to a halt. And there, even before their ...

The International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank, and the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP) announced Thursday that they will provide Acleda Bank with a $110 million loan to finance rural and micro-businesses, especially agricultural enterprises. ...

The World Bank’s private sector arm may be doing more harm than good when it invests in private equity firms, banks and other financial intermediaries, global development group Oxfam said in a report on Wednesday. In one project indirectly sponsored by the bank’s International Finance Corporation ...

Cambodia inaugurated a 1.73-km Mekong River bridge, along with a 143-km road, here on Wednesday in a bid to boost economic development and reduce poverty in this far northeastern region. ...

After a kickoff ceremony last Wednesday, a five-year development project in 30 villages, funded and supervised by South Korea’s International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) begins work this week.​ ...

The Japanese government on Monday awarded nearly US$230 million in grant aid and loans to Cambodia. The loans are for a city transmission and distribution system expansion project in Phnom Penh and improvement of National Road No. 5, linking Phnom Penh and the Thai border. ...

At the edge of a sand-filled Boeng Kak lake in Phnom Penh on Friday, Prime Minister Hun Sen inaugurated the country’s newest—and largest—mosque, which was privately funded by a Dubai-based businessman at a cost of $2.9 million. ...

A lack of capital is the main obstacle for Cambodia to expedite connectivity development and the Southeast Asian country hopes that the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the Silk Road Fund will fill the shortage, a spokesman said. ...

China’s newly proposed, yet controversial, regional investment bank could be an opportunity for Cambodia to​ prove it can use foreign aid more effectively, a Cambodian Fulbright scholar says. ...

A United Nations development agency will open a new office in Phnom Penh following a meeting yesterday with Minister of Foreign Affairs Hor Namhong, an official has said. ...

The president of the Asian Development Bank says a proposed Chinese-led regional bank is a potential partner instead of a rival and the ADB is talking with Beijing to share its experience. Takehiko Nakao’s comments came after Washington softened its opposition to the Chinese-proposed Asian Infrastructure ...

After admitting there were “major problems” with its resettlement projects earlier this month, the World Bank has come under fire from Boeung Kak lake residents in a new report from a human rights group. The report by the International Accountability Project (IAP), titled Back to Development, ...

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Wednesday that the China-proposed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is very attractive to rich countries, particularly in Europe. The prime minister’s remarks came after Germany, France and Italy followed the suit of Britain in deciding to join AIIB as founding ...

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Wednesday broke ground for the construction of a 174-kilometer national road No. 58 under Chinese financial support. Road No. 58 stretches from Banteay Meanchey province, which shares an international border with Thailand, to neighboring Uddor Meanchey province to the ...

About 100 villagers from Boeng Chhouk village in Phnom Penh’s Russei Keo district blocked officials and workers on Tuesday from bringing in heavy machinery to begin work on a road expansion that would destroy some of their homes.   ...

Italy’s Ministry of Economy and Finance has confirmed the country’s intention to become a member of the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), despite pressure from the US on its western allies not to join. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday returned from an international disaster management conference in Japan, where he secured a promise from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to help Cambodia with voter registration once new election laws come into effect, an official said. ...

For months, the Obama administration has been putting pressure on its allies, such as Australia, Japan and South Korea, not to join the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), which Washington sees as a potential rival to the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, which are ...