Koh Pich Awash With Development, but Don’t Ask for Details
Business is booming on Koh Pich.
Since development began in 2006—and about 300 families were pushed off what was then farmland—the island has slowly grown into the symbol of commercial modernity in Phnom Penh. …
The developer, Overseas Cambodia Investment Corp., is also extending the island by 500 meters into the confluence of the Mekong and Bassac rivers to make room for a 555-meter-high tower, which would be the world’s second-tallest after Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, if it is ever built. …
Environment Minister Mok Mareth said that an environmental impact assessment (EIA) was completed when Koh Pich’s development was originally approved in 2006, but that impacts on the island’s surrounds were of minimal concern. …
“[The EIA] mostly concentrated on bank erosion, flow [regulation] and waste discharge treatment. Biodiversity and fish migration are not sensitive issues [in this area],” he said, adding that he was not authorized to release the Koh Pich study. …
Ian Baird, assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Mekong fisheries expert, said that the area surrounding Koh Pich was in fact critical for fish stocks. …
Cambodia National Rescue Party spokesman Son Chhay said Monday that lawmakers from his party had repeatedly asked the government to provide documents about the extension of Koh Pich and the proposed tower, but had yet to receive any information. …
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/koh-pich-awash-with-development-but-dont-ask-for-details-36411/
