Cambodia looking forward to ‘breathing’ with controversial new canal

Lack of clarity: Children playing next to the construction site of the Funan Techo canal in Kandal province. Uncertainty surrounds the project, from whether its main goal is shipping or irrigation to who will finance it and how it will affect the flow of the Mekong River. — AFP

PHNOM PENH: Suy SE Dust covers everything in Lim Tong Eng’s yard, thrown up by excavators toiling next door to enlarge a channel that Cambodia’s government hopes will soon be a major shipping canal.

Next month, Cambodia will officially break ground on the Funan Techo canal, a US$1.7bil project running from the Mekong River to a Cambodian port on the Gulf of Thailand that will offer an alternative to transit via Vietnam.