Urban administration and development

Cambodian authorities yesterday arrested French architect Patrick Devillers – friend and business associate of disgraced Chinese politician Bo Xilai – and may be moving to extradite him to China to face unspecified charges there, police said. Phnom Penh Police Commissioner Touch Naroth confirmed the arrest to ...

“Vespa was in Cambodia before the war [and] Piaggio wanted to come back to the market in Cambodia, because the market is growing,” explained Frederic Bachelet, head of business development at Narita Vespa Co. Ltd. The company plans to break ground next week on ...

Cambodia and China, on June 13th, inked an agreement to strengthen their ties and showed they have become comprehensive strategic partners as ties between the two countries boosts bilateral trade to reach a level of 5 billion US dollars by 2017. Eang Sophallet, an assistant to Samdech Prime Minister Hun Sen, told media that ...

About 200 people from Siem Reap’s Angkor Chum district protested outside the district governor’s office on Friday, calling for private electricity company Duong Narin to lower its prices and asking the state electricity authority to connect to their area, protesters said yesterday. The residents of ...

Poipet – Thailand and Cambodia on Thursday launched direct bus services linking Bangkok and Phnom Penh via the Aranyaprathet-Poipet border crossing, aiming to cut transportation costs, MOCT reported on June 15. Transport Minister Jarupong Ruangsuwan and Cambodian Public Works and Transport Minister Tram Iv Tek and representatives of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) co-presided at the ...

The government on Friday denied it had violated a moratorium on granting new land concessions when Prime Minister Hun Sen signed off on more than 20,000 hectares of land to three rubber companies 11 days after the ban was announced on May 7. According to documents ...

Nautisco Seafood Manufacturing, once Cambodia’s premier seafood-processing company, will not undergo government-brokered restructuring after a Cambodian appeals court yesterday declared the company solvent. The ruling was a first test for the law on corporate restructuring and insolvency. The decision sounds positive for the company. But now the ...

According to documents published in the latest Royal Gazette, Prime Minister Hun Sen signed off on three land concessions covering more than 20,000 hectares last month, 11 days after a moratorium on the granting of such concessions was announced. On May 7, Mr. Hun Sen signed ...

The Court of Appeal yesterday dismissed a complaint by the Canadian-Cambodian shrimp manufacturer Nautisco Seafood Manufacturing Inc. alleging that the private equity firm Leopard Capital had purposely indebted the company for its own personal gain. According to the Sihanoukville-based shrimp company’s complaint, Leopard Capital, a partner ...

Passenger traffic at Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Sihanouk international airports saw a combined 18.9% growth in May 2012, with passenger numbers totaling 283,000, the report from SCA, society concession airport said on June 7. It adds: ‘This brings the year-to-date passenger arrivals and departures to 1.89 million, a sterling 21.8% jump.’ ...

Starting today, 22 Cambodian buses and a truck will be allowed to transport passengers and goods directly between Phnom Penh and Bangkok, an official said yesterday. “We will officially open the Poipet International Checkpoint [to buses and trucks] on the Thai border,” said Suon Vanhong, deputy ...

A dispute over the sacking of 67 workers from the Angkor Village Hotel and Resort in Siem Reap in August looks set for court again, but a labour rights advocate believes justice is no closer for workers. Dave Welshsaid even if a court again ruled in ...

Increased flight connections to Sihanoukville helped boost tourism figures in the seaside province during the first five months of the year, tourism officials said yesterday.   ...

The Phnom Penh and Bangkok bus companies will start operating their business this week in a move to integrate the ASEAN region and boost the facilitation of traveling between the two kingdoms, with a hope of attracting more tourists. “The bus link between Phnom Penh and Bangkok will begin this week, Transport Minister, Tram ...

One and a half million children still toil as laborers in Cambodia’s fisheries, brick factories, agricultural plantations and construction sites, government officials said yesterday at an event held at Phnom Penh’s Wat Botum ahead of World Day Against Child Labor on Tuesday. The government has set ...

More than 1,000 people marched in Sihanoukville yesterday to raise awareness of the exploitation of child labour, said rights workers. Kong Socheat, child rights advocacy co-ordinator for Licadho, said the province had been chosen for its high rate of child labour, especially in the fishing sector ...

Phnom Penh Autonomous Port plans to buy a rice-polishing machine from China, and will also look to build a rice storage facility in Kandal province. These moves, officials said, were intended to push along Cambodia’s rice trade during a period of uncertainty for the industry. Facilities ...

Stevia Nutra Corporation — (The Company), an Agro-Management company focused on stevia agronomics is pleased to announce that it has successfully acquired 50 acres of prime agricultural land in Cambodia for its new innovative Stevia Propagation Centre (SPC). The property is located just outside the town ...

Garment workers who claim their employer was docking their pay for wearing shoes on the job will return to work today after their two-day strike ended with some demands being met. More than 300 workers from Horus Industrial Corp sports­wear factory in Phnom Penh’s Meanchey district ...

The Republic of Korea donated more than 200 military trucks to the Cambodian government last month, a port official said yesterday. Sam Heng, administrative chief of the Sihanoukville Autonomous Port, said the 241 trucks were strictly for transportation. “The trucks arrived before the elections. They’re military cargo ...

No ground was broken in May on the New Siem Reap International Airport (NSRIA), a US$1 billion Korean investment, and officials say no definite date has been set for work on the project as the developer looks for new partners. NSRIA Co Ltd, an equal joint ...

Restoration of the Angkor temples won’t be the only thing talked about at a meeting in Siem Reap today – the living conditions of more than 100,000 villagers residing at the heritage site is also on the agenda. “The villagers should live harmoniously with the temples,” ...

Representatives from international and national teams involved in the restoration and preservation of the Angkor Archeological Park are meeting today in Siem Reap City to discuss the future of the site. Gathered for the Technical Session of the International Coordinating Committee of Angkor (ICC), the representatives ...

Just days ahead of Sunday’s commune elections, Prime Minister Hun Sen again broke his pledge to remain silent during his party’s campaign period and sought to ease the concerns of communities whose livelihoods have been threatened by land disputes. Speaking to villagers through a mobile telephone, ...