ODC English Site
New Coal Plant to Tackle Blackouts
National energy supplier Electricite du Cambodge (EdC) on Monday announced that a 50-MW coal-fired power plant in Preah Sihanouk province is ready to come online this week and will solve Phnom Penh’s chronic blackouts. The statement does not mention which power plant had been completed, ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/new-coal-plant-to-tackle-blackouts-31220/
Skyscraper’s woes continue
The saga of the stalled $240 million Gold Tower 42 was revived last week when it emerged that a supplier for the project had accused the owner and builder of failing to pay out nearly $500,000 in fees, according to an injunction request obtained by ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013061866319/Business/skyscraper-s-woes-continue.html
Phnom Penh Mapping Meetup #17 - Photos and Presentations
Tri of Can Tho University’s Department of Environment and Natural Resources Management answering questions about water resources changes in the Mekong DeltaThe PPMM #17 was a success. We had two every engaging presenters and thirty six participants, ten of which are students. The ODC Team ...
Police block Beoung Kak protesters
More than 100 police and security guards, including riot squad members, were deployed to the capital’s Boeung Kak lake community yesterday to block a protest that, at times, involved only three shouting women. About 50 members of the Boeung Kak community tried to march from Village ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013061866329/National/police-block-beoung-kak-protesters.html
Australian Police Say Appropriate Steps Taken in BHP Bribery Case
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) said Monday they have taken the necessary steps to investigate claims that the world’s largest mining company, BHP Billiton, bribed officials in Cambodia and played down reports that it had mishandled one the country’s largest cases in corporate corruption. “The ...
Eight More Charged Over Violent Factory Protest
A court official at the Kompong Speu Provincial Court said Monday that a total of 16 union representatives have been charged with damaging property and inciting violence during a protest outside a garment factory earlier this month, twice the number of arrests previously confirmed. Provincial Judge ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/eight-more-charged-over-violent-factory-protest-31214/
BHP bribery scandal not thoroughly investigated
Reports have today emerged criminal allegations that BHP Billiton employees bribed officials in Cambodia and China were not thoroughly investigated by the Australian Federal Police, with the matter instead being passed over to corporate regulator ASIC, which also ran no in-depth investigation. The documents released ...
http://www.miningaustralia.com.au/news/bhp-bribery-scandal-not-thoroughly-investigated
Bandith trial ends with prosecutor accusing two
The final day of former Bavet town governor Chhouk Bandith’s trial on Friday saw heated argument between lawyers and witnesses over who was responsible for shootings that injured three garment factory workers at a demonstration last year. More than 20 witnesses testified during the three days ...
Sub-Decree Regulating Public Service Is Passed
The Council of Ministers on Friday approved a sub-decree designed to regulate the performance of the government’s administration by chastising institutions that fail to properly carry out their work in delivering public services. Though the legislation does not carry any punishment for officials that fail in ...
Cassava farmers rely on Thai seed imports
Cassava farmers in Banteay Meanchey province had to import seeds from Thailand this season in response to rapidly-changing weather conditions that interfered with seed growth. Te Haing, a cassava farmer in Banteay Meanchey who planted more than 1,000 hectares this season, told the Post yesterday that ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013061766299/Business/cassava-farmers-rely-on-thai-seed-imports.html
Jail Sentence for Anti-Eviction Activist Upheld
The Court of Appeal on Friday upheld the guilty verdict for anti-eviction activist Yorm Bopha, but reduced her sentence from three-to two-years imprisonment, of which one year was suspended. The ruling means that Ms. Bopha will not be released until late 2014. Supporters and human rights groups ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/jail-sentence-for-anti-eviction-activist-upheld-31073/
Hundreds Protest Over Forest Land Seizures
More than 700 villagers from five provinces yesterday protested in front of the provincial government headquarters in Kompong Chhnang after losing their community forests to large agro-industry firms. Organized by the Cambodian Grassroots People’s Assembly- a network of communities that includes forestry and land activists as ...
Work-related deaths, injuries rose in 2012
The number of officially recorded workplace deaths in Cambodia increased by more than 25 per cent from 2011 to 2012, while the vast majority of those injured at work were women, National Social Security Fund figures released yesterday reveal. A total of 59 people were reported ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013061466277/National/work-related-deaths-injuries-rose-in-2012.html
Cambodia eyes to become region's prominent gems, jewelry market
Cambodia has eyed to become a precious stone and jewelry hub in Southeast Asia region in the near future, Minister of Commerce Cham Prasidh said Thursday. Speaking at the opening of the 5th international gems and jewelry fair here, the minister said that with the fast ...
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/business/2013-06/13/c_132452793.htm
Plan to help thousands of child labourers quit
Chan Dany, 12, wants to go to school but instead, like too many Cambodian children, has been forced to sell groceries and do housework to provide for the family. At a conference in Phnom Penh set to coincide with he 12th annual World Day Against ...
Protesters Mix Petitions, Black Magic to Get Land
Sporting red bandanas and armed with the accoutrements of Khmer black magic, several hundred demonstrators representing embattled communities throughout the country held noisy protests outside several government offices yesterday, where they placed curses on corrupt officials and submitted written petitions demanding justice. Unlike previous protests that ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/protesters-mix-petitions-black-magic-to-get-land-30761/
Renewable energy course powers up
Instructors at the Royal University of Phnom Penh have just finished the first academic year of a landmark physics course. Launched in the fall of 2012, “Renewable Energy and Applications” aims to train students so they can seek internships and jobs in one of Cambodia’s fastest-growing ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013061366236/Business/renewable-energy-course-powers-up.html
Phnom Penh Mapping Meetup #17 is Happening!
You’re invited to a very special edition of the Phnom Penh Mapping Meetup! Typically, the mapping meetup is scheduled for the last Tuesday of each month. However, this very special occasion calls for a slight change to the tradition. Bernd and Paul will speak about ...
Bundith Fails to Show Up at Retrial for Triple Shooting
Former Bavet City governor Chhouk Bundith failed to show up Wednesday for the first day of his long-awaited retrial at Svay Rieng Provincial Court for his alleged involvement in a shooting that left three workers wounded, court officials said. According to provincial Judge Leang Sour, Mr. ...
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/bundith-fails-to-show-up-at-retrial-for-triple-shooting-30758/
Call for Oversight of Cambodian Land Campaign
A land titling campaign in Cambodia launched and financed by Prime Minister Hun Sen’s lacks transparency and could leave thousands of people landless, a human rights group said Wednesday, urging the country’s donors to push for reform of the program. The campaign, which employs volunteer youth ...
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/land-06122013150317.html
Cambodia and S Korea aid workers
Cambodia and South Korea signed a memorandum of understanding yesterday, agreeing to work together to ensure worker protection. Last month, a Kampong Speu shoe factory collapse killed two workers. The incident inspired the Ministry of Labour to implement a Health and Safety Network for workers here ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013061266215/National/cambodia-and-s-korea-aid-workers.html
Thailand, Cambodia Recommit to Border Growth
The foreign ministers of Thailand and Cambodia signed a memorandum of understanding in Phnom Penh yesterday reconfirming their commitment to developing their joint border with new economic zones, checkpoints and a 1,800-MW power plant. “We have agreed to create four international checkpoints to improve trade ...
SEZ adds to tycoon’s growing portfolio
Okhna Try Pheap’s ballooning empire of exclusive natural resource licences and concessions has been expanded even further with the granting of a special economic zone (SEZ) in Ratanakkiri province. The May 27 issue of the Royal Gazette reveals Pheap was granted a 136-hectare SEZ in O’Yadav ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013061266216/National/sez-adds-to-tycoon-s-growing-portfolio.html
Illegal logs found in TTY truck
Conservation officials have confiscated a truck containing 20 cubic metres of illegally cut, luxury-grade timber from an economic land concession owned by the firm TTY Corporation, a district official said yesterday. Kratie provincial officials seized the logs, along with two trucks and two cars on Monday ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013061266220/National/illegal-logs-found-in-tty-truck.html