After Demolition, Colonial Building Site to Lie Dormant
The owner of a site in Phnom Penh where a 19th century French colonial building was demolished last week said yesterday she does not have enough money to follow through on plans to build a replica in its place. Kang Gheck Nai said it had always been her intention to construct another building in an identical style, but that those plans had been thrown out due to a lack of funds and her derision to purchase other plots of land instead. … Last month, Unesco condemned the demolition of the building, which was situated on the corner of Street 108 and Norodom Boulevard and served as a government building during the French colonial period. Unesco said the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts should have been consulted before a decision was made on the building’s fate. …
