Land Concessions Signed After Hun Sen Ordered Moratorium

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 an order calling for all ministries, institutions and local authorities to “temporarily postpone providing economic land concessions.” However, in a trio of orders dated May 18, the prime minister approved rubber plantations in Ratanakkiri, Siem Reap and Kompong Thom provinces, according to the documents published in the Royal Gazette. According to the documents, 8,000 hectares of land was granted to SK Plantation (Cambodia) Ltd. in Ratanakkiri’s Veun Sai and Kon Mom districts; 7,710 hectares were granted to the Ly Ye Rubber Co. Ltd. in Siem Reap’s Svay Loeu district; and 5,914 hectares were granted to HMH Co. in Kompong Thom’s Santuk district. …