IFC Ombudsman to help settle Phnom Penh airport land dispute

25 February 2014
The Cambodia Daily
Aid and development / Concessions / Economy and commerce / Government / Human rights / Infrastructure / International relations / Land / Law and judiciary / Multilateral development assistance / Public land lease / Secretariat of Civil Aviation / Social development / Transport and shipping / Transport and shipping policy and administration / Transport infrastructure and facilities / World Bank
Cambodia Airports / IFC / International Finance Corporation / Phnom Penh / Phnom Penh International Airport / State Secretariat of Civil Aviation / World Bank

Representatives for the hundreds of families facing eviction from homes around Phnom Penh International Airport have agreed to let the compliance ombudsman of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private investment arm of the World Bank, mediate a solution to the land dispute with the government and the airport’s private operator. In a report dated January and released last week, the IFC ombudsman says the government and Cambodia Airports, the private company that manages the airport, also agreed to let them mediate talks, but offers no dates or timeframe for a resolution. Fifty-nine families filed a complaint with the IFC ombudsman in June after local authorities threatened nearly 400 households with eviction in late 2012, just ahead of the arrival of world leaders attending two regional summits in Phnom Penh. The IFC’s involvement stems from having lent $10 million to a $72 million project to upgrade three airports around the country—all run by Cambodia Airports—including creating a longer runway in Phnom Penh to handle larger planes. …

 Aun Pheap and Zsombor Peter
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/ifc-ombudsman-to-help-settle-phnom-penh-airport-land-dispute-53146/