Aid and development

Nget Khun, a 76-year-old known to some in Cambodia’s capital as “Grandma Mommy,” hasn’t had a quiet retirement. A World Bank spokesperson said the bank is in discussions with the government about “how to support the country’s development in a way that benefits all Cambodians.” ...

The Cambodia minister and other senior officials from the other countries Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) will gather this week for the 20th GMS Ministerial Conference to explore ways to boost infrastructure investment and development, said the press release of the ASIAN Development Bank. ...

Beijing is spreading its influence by stumping up the cash to build desperately needed infrastructure throughout Asia, but with little consideration for communities or the level of corruption. “Without infrastructure, you can’t revive,” said Cambodia’s Commerce Minister, Sun Chanthol. “We have been blamed for always ...

More than five months after being appointed as the U.N.’s new special rapporteur on human rights in Cambodia, Rhona Smith will make her first official visit to the country later this month, according to the government’s Human Rights Committee. ...

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has received a complaint from 22 Cambodians who say the lender is falling short in its efforts to fix the mistakes it has made in planning and carrying out its ongoing rehabilitation of the country’s dilapidated railway tracks. ...

Another group of families living along Cambodia’s dilapidated railway tracks is filing a complaint with the compliance review panel of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), accusing the lender of failing to abide by its own resettlement policies. ...

The Council of Ministers on Friday approved a plan to increase the amount of borrowing from foreign countries by as much as 33 percent over the next three years, in a bid to counter a decrease in grants and concessional loans. ...

Economists and industry experts disagreed Tuesday on the effects that recent currency devaluations in China and Vietnam would have on the Cambodian economy. ...

A group of 12 international and local human rights organizations sent a letter to the U.N. Human Rights Council on Thursday urging it to support a resolution addressing “the deteriorating human rights situation in Cambodia.” ...

New documents from the World Bank on its preparations to lift a 2011 freeze on new loans to Cambodia show that the international lender is giving short shrift to public opinion on whether it should restart lending in the first place. ...

A group of local and international NGOs are urging the World Bank to include a program for helping the thousands of families evicted from Phnom Penh’s Boeng Kak neighborhood as part of the plan to start funding new projects in Cambodia. ...

The first Phnom Penh-Preah Sihanouk expressway is expected to be constructed next year in order to facilitate goods transportation from the capital to the international seaport, according the state’s news agency- AKP. ...

China’s Henan Provincial Communications Planning Survey and Design Institute (HPCPSDI) signed a contract with Cambodia’s Transport Ministry on Tuesday to draw up a road network master plan for Cambodia. ...

A new three-year, U.S.-funded project to promote labor rights was launched Thursday afternoon at Cambodia’s independent labor dispute resolution body in Phnom Penh. ...

There are 11 China-funded road and bridge construction projects in 2015, of which 8 have been broken ground and put into official use, according to the state news agency (AKP). ...

Cambodia inaugurated Takhmau Bridge across Tonle Bassac River, along with a 12-km road here on Monday in an effort to facilitate travel and boost local economic development.The concrete bridge, along with its connecting road, is located about 13 km south of Phnom Penh capital. It ...

The government of China has put on hold a $300 million loan to a Cambodian rice project, aimed at developing storage and warehousing facilities in the country, as the government of Cambodia has not been able to meet the criteria set by the Chinese authorities, ...

The European Chamber of Commerce on Monday signed an agreement with the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction to help it come up with development standards to increase investment in the Kingdom. ...

The government has set aside some $33 million to finish rebuilding Cambodia’s northern rail line by late next year, according to the Transportation Ministry, reanimating a long-delayed and over-budget project that had been one of the Asian Development Bank’s priorities in the country. ...

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Friday encouraged the China Road and Bridge Corporation to continue investing in Cambodia in order to help the country develop infrastructures. ...

A school meal program run by the World Food Program (WFP) has run out of funds, forcing it to transfer about half of its schools to government care. ...

In the inaugural issue of its bulletin on Cambodia’s $5.8-billion garment industry, the International Labor Organization said Thursday that business remained strong on the back of rising exports despite a 28-percent hike to the sector’s minimum wage in January. ...

U.N. human rights expert Maina Kiai on Thursday urged Cambodia’s Senate not to pass a controversial NGO law that the National Assembly approved this week, warning that the legislation could have “disastrous” effects. ...

Cambodia on Thursday inaugurated a three-story school building at the Indradevi High School here, which was donated by China Foundation for Peace and Development. ...