Phnom Penh claims the project is cost-effective at $1.7 billion, as Vietnam fears it could be used by Chinese warships.
Cambodia has launched a controversial canal project to connect the Mekong River to the sea.
Work on the $1.7 billion project began on Monday. Phnom Penh hopes the canal will boost the country’s economy. However, concerns about the impact on the region’s environment and external relations abound.
The Funan Techo Canal will run from a point on the Mekong River, about an hour’s drive southeast of Phnom Penh, to the Gulf of Thailand. Completion is scheduled for 2028.
A pet project of former Prime Minister Hun Sen, the canal is also seen as a galvanizing national venture aimed at building support for his son and successor. Prime Minister Hun Manet took office at the end of his father’s 38-year rule last year.
The government declared Monday – also Hun Sen’s birthday – a public holiday so that Cambodians could participate in the “celebration in a joyful, crowded and proud way”.
At the launch, Hun Manet called the 180 km (110 mile) project “historic,” saying it will give the country a “nose to breathe.”
“This project is not just an infrastructure project, but a nationalist effort,” added Hun Manet. “We must build this canal at all costs.”
Uncertainty
Despite hopes, the project is shrouded in uncertainty, with neighboring Vietnam particularly concerned.
Cambodia hopes the waterway will divert exports from its current dependence on Vietnamese ports.
There is also concern about the role of China, which Phnom Penh has suggested will partially finance the project.
Alarm has grown to the point that some fear the canal could be used by Chinese warships. Cambodia, an ally of Beijing, held its largest joint military exercises with China in May.
In December, two Chinese warships made their first visit to the Ream naval base in Cambodia, raising fears about greater Chinese influence in the Gulf of Thailand.
Cambodia has repeatedly denied that the base is for use by any foreign power.
The canal’s impact on the environment is another major concern.
Conservationists have long warned that the Mekong, which supports up to a quarter of the world’s freshwater fish catch and half of Vietnam’s rice production, is at risk from infrastructure projects, pollution, sand mining and alterations. climate.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
