Chinese Investments in Cambodia Ignore Environment Queries
China’s expanding investment portfolio in Cambodia has brought into sharper focus the darker side of the Asian giant’s “development projects” in the impoverished Southeast Asian nation. And it is in the southwestern corner of Cambodia—known for its rich biodiversity, forest covered hills and bubbling rivers—where this Chinese economic footprint is leaving a defining mark. A plan to build a 400 km-long railway line through this rugged green terrain is the most recent Chinese addition to growing list that has alarmed Cambodian environmentalists. … Environment Minister Mok Mareth reportedly told the Cambodia Daily newspaper in an interview at the time that the paperwork had not included an environment impact assessment (EIA). The same publication had also got Transport Minister Tram Iv Tek to affirm in an interview that he was in the dark about the details of this massive investment. It confirms a pattern that is disturbingly familiar to environmentalists who have been monitoring much longer “development” projects: the way Chinese companies are building large hydropower projects in the same southwestern corner targeted for the new railway line. … China’s hydropower projects, now estimated to be over $1.6 billion in investments, are aiming to generate 915 megawatts of power in a country that suffers from an energy deficit. Only a quarter of the country’s 14.5 million population has access to power from the national grid. …
