Prime Minister Hun Manet (centre) inspects flooded areas in Kampong Kor commune of Kampong Thom province’s Kampong Svay district. - Water resources ministry
PHNOM PENH: Prime Minister Hun Manet directed Minister of Water Resources and Meteorology Thor Chetha to prioritise the recruitment of local residents for construction work on the Kampong Kor and Stung Slap dams in Kampong Thom province.
He said they could provide irrigation for more than 120,000 hectares of farmland during the dry season once completed.
During a visit to the flooded area in Kampong Kor commune, Kampong Svay district on Aug 10, Manet inspected the construction sites of both dams and met with local communities.
He later shared in an Aug 12 social media post that he had a chance encounter with a villager and his niece after disembarking from a boat.
The prime minister accepted an invitation to visit their home, where he discussed the current water situation and the livelihoods of the people, both now and in the past.
“At the same time, I also informed them of some of the government’s plans related to their village, including the construction of the Kampong Kor dam nearby, as well as a future project to improve the road through the village,” he said.
“I instructed Chetha to pay attention to the selection of local people to work at the construction sites,” he added.
Manet noted that the Stung Slap dam will play a role in diverting water flows from the upper Chinit River in Preah Vihear province to the Stung Sen River, which will help reduce the risk of flooding in Stung Sen city and the surrounding areas.
The ministry said in an Aug 10 social media post that the Kampong Kor dam has the capacity to store about 300 million cubic metres of water for the irrigation of agricultural land and mixed crops and serve the daily needs of people in Stung Sen city and the Kampong Svay, Santuk, Prasat Balang and Sandan districts.
It noted in February that the Kampong Kor sluice gate construction site is located in the lower part of the Stung Sen River, in Kampong Kor Leu village of Kampong Svay district’s Kampong Kor commune, about 15km from the provincial town along the Stung Sen River. - The Phnom Penh Post/ANN
