Cambodia is pushing ahead with plans to link the nation’s capital, Phnom Penh, to its coast with a canal running 180 kilometers, or 110 miles. According to Cambodian leaders, 51% or more of the canal’s cost will be covered by Cambodian companies and the remainder by a Chinese build-operate-transfer (BOT) firm. Groundbreaking has been scheduled for Aug. 5. Cambodia has thus far flatly refused to consult about the canal project’s likely transboundary impacts with Vietnam and other Mekong River Commission stakeholders. Although Cambodia’s leaders insist the canal is a prudent investment in the nation’s interest, this review raises grave doubts about its economic feasibility and, secondarily, alarm over the environmental impacts inherent in the canal’s reported scope and objectives. The rhetoric is loud and clear The planned Funan Techo Canal (FTC) could be regarded as Cambodia’s analog to China’s Grand Canal: a remarkable accomplishment and an object of Khmer national pride. As notified to the Mekong River Commission in August 2023, the FTC is to be 180 km long, 80-100 meters (260-330 feet) wide, and 5.4 m (18 ft) deep, able to accommodate vessels up to 1,000 tons deadweight (DWT). A higher tonnage of 3,000 DWT has also been mentioned by Cambodia. Further, based on the canal dimensions, the canal should be able to accommodate 5,000 DWT vessels in the wet season. The canal will link the Mekong River to the Bassac River, and then, through Kandal, Takéo and Kampot provinces, to Kep province and the Gulf of Thailand. Map…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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