A pet project of Cambodia’s ruling Hun clan to build a canal linking the capital with the Gulf of Thailand got a boost as Chinese President Xi Jinping’s rounded off a three-nation tour of Southeast Asia on Friday. The Cambodian government reported the signing Thursday of a public-private partnership contract with China worth $1.15 billion to fund Cambodia’s Funan Techo Canal project. The ambitious project was launched last year but work stopped soon after groundbreaking amid questions over funding for the 151 kilometer (94 mile)-long canal that would link a branch of the Mekong River to a port on the Gulf of Thailand.
Prime Minister Hun Manet posted on Facebook that he met with Wang Tong Zhou, president of the China Communications Construction Company to discuss the construction of the canal. Senate President Hun Sen also posted that in his meeting with the Chinese president, Xi voiced support for the project.
Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sun Chanthol said on Facebook that the two sides signed five agreements, including the public-private partnership contract, a shareholder agreement, an investment agreement, an engineering, procurement and construction contract, and an operation and maintenance contract.
