After Land Swap, Siem Reap Government Moves Again
Siem Reap’s provincial government apparatus, which in 2010 was relocated to a remote site 16 km outside of the city as part of an extensive and hugely controversial swap of government land and buildings, is moving back to its old home in the tourist city’s center today, officials said. In order to move Siem Reap’s entire administrative offices and staff back into the heart of the city, Prime Minister Hun Sen authorized municipal and provincial officials to switch buildings with the Apsara Authority, which manages the Angkor Archeological Park, according to a letter dated August 9 and signed by Prak Sokhon, a secretary of state for the Council of Ministers. … Siem Reap’s provincial government was moved in March 2010 after the little-known J&R Import, Export and Construction Company was awarded a contract to build some 60 new office buildings on a 42-hectare plot of land in the rural and remote Ampil commune. That land swap authorized the private J&R firm to take control of a number of extremely valuable provincial buildings in prime locations in Siem Reap, including on the city’s expensive riverfront area. The man behind the swap and relocation, which was not open to public tender, was then-Siem Reap governor Sou Phirin. … The August 9 reversal order by Mr. Hun Sen states: “Swap the Siem Reap City administration with the Apsara Authority, and Apsara Authority swap with the Siem Reap administration building.” “More land that is owned by the Apsara Authority, near Angkor Kyung You [the area surrounding the Apsara Authority buildings] is to be given to Siem Reap City Hall to build other departments under the authority…along with parks, parking lots, and additional space,” Mr. Hun Sen’s order states, adding that a special government working group will be created to facilitate the re-transition back to Siem Reap. Mr. Bunsong confirmed Thursday that a total of 26 provincial government departments, along with Siem Reap’s provincial hall and more than 1,000 civil servants, would be making the slow move back into the city. … Attempts to contact Lun Sothy, director of the J&R construction company, were unsuccessful yesterday as two phone numbers on the company’s website were not working. On its website, J&R say they also operate a pawnshop, an organic farming company, and they manage “a canal” in Kompong Thom province. In the past decade the political opposition has decried the proliferation of swaps of valuable, centrally located government lands and buildings. Conducted without public tenders and in secrecy by government officials, the swaps are often a boon for those lucky enough to obtain the state-owned land, as they get a prime piece of real estate in return for building replacement properties on land at a fraction of the price.
Phorn Bopha
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/top/after-land-swap-siem-reap-government-moves-again-41819/
