Catalog

Building Cambodia

Long neglected infrastructure is being rehabilitated to meet the country’s needs

WATERWORKS. The perennial flooding in Phnom Penh will hopefully stop with new infrastructure.

By Marcia R. Samson (csamson@adb.org)
Editorial Coordinator

Like many developing countries, Cambodia requires physical infrastructure. But Cambodia’s legacy of civil strife makes this need far greater than that of most. Requiring everything from improved waterworks to electricity to irrigation canals, Cambodia faces a colossal challenge.

In the city of Phnom Penh, the perennial flooding is a reminder of the neglect of physical infrastructure. Floodwaters—rising to waist level in some areas—damage roads, cause health problems, and disrupt economic activities.

“The drainage canals haven’t been maintained for several years and are now blocked by sewerage waste and mud,” says Ean Narin, Deputy Director of the Phnom Penh Municipality’s Department of Public Works and Transport (DPWT).

The ongoing rehabilitation of the drainage system, under the Asian Development Bank (ADB)’s US$20 million Phnom Penh Water Supply and Drainage Project, aims to mitigate floods. Unfortunately, the heavy rains in 2000 caused the worst floods in 40 years—and came before the project was finished.

In the context of rehabilitating the drainage system, the project had to resettle 30 families. According to Moeung Sophan, DPWT Deputy Manager, the 30 families living along the canals were relocated to a 7.5-hectare resettlement community in Toul Sambo, 22 kilometers south of Phnom Penh. Thirteen other families around the Boeng Trabek pumping station have also been relocated. The displaced families have received compensation from the Government, been enrolled in the Urban Poor Development Fund through which they will have access to credit (up to $400 per family), and been given the opportunity to own the piece of land they have settled on after 10 years.

Kiev Sophy and her family from the East Tonle Canal have lived in Toul Sambo since October 1999. She says that they like it there. “We don’t smell the canal that makes my children sick. I even have a small garden,” she says. One complaint, however, is that her husband, a construction worker, must commute to Phnom Penh for employment. “There are still no jobs here,” she says.

Pouk Peuh, chief of the 200-family Toul Sambo community, shares Ms. Sophy’s wish that livelihood activities—such as livestock raising—and microcredit be provided for residents. But Mr. Peuh does not regret being resettled because “we will no longer be squatters but landowners.”

Lighting the Country

The lively carnival near the Independence Monument and the neon lights on the façade of restaurants along the Mekong River give a semblance that Phnom Penh’s power supply is adequate. But according to the Business and Investment Handbook 2000 of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, there are only about 50,000 electricity consumers among Phnom Penh’s one million people and up to 25,000 privately owned diesel generators are being used. Nationwide, only 15 percent of the population has access to electricity. Lead-acid batteries are commonly used in rural areas.

ADB’s Power Rehabilitation Project, for which a US$28.2 million loan was approved in 1994, was completed in 2000. The project is designed to rehabilitate and expand the dilapidated power generation and supply infrastructure in Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville and Siem Reap provinces to meet the increasing demand for electricity. The project also provided technical and administrative training to the state-owned Electricité du Cambodge to operate and maintain the rehabilitated power systems. A second Power Rehabilitation Project for Cambodia, planned to upgrade the power supply in key provincial towns and promote geographically balanced development, was approved in December 2000.

Irrigation Canals for Food Security

Cambodia’s rural areas are home to most of the country’s poor, who face underdeveloped infrastructure and limited access to services. Many of the existing irrigation canals have long been dysfunctional, making farmland vulnerable not only to drought but also to frequent flooding.

But infrastructure without proper maintenance doesn’t last long.

In Takeo Province, south of Phnom Penh, the irrigation system provided under the multicomponent Special Rehabilitation Assistance loan—ADB’s first loan after resuming operations in Cambodia in 1992—has been suffering from neglect. The valves to open the gates of the irrigation system have not been used for many months and have rusted.

Pointing to the collapsed banks of the shallow irrigation canals, a farmer says, “We prefer to get water from the well. We don’t want to maintain the irrigation canals—the government agencies should look after them.”

In the Doun Kaev Commune, the rice yield has increased from 1.3 tons in 1994 to 2.5 tons per hectare in 2000. Each farmer gives 10–15 kilograms of rice as payment to the lead farmer for maintaining the canals. The increase in yield is attributed not only to irrigation but also to improved varieties, more fertilizer, land improvement, and integrated pest management.

Improved Air Links Boost Tourism

MUSIC TO THE ECONOMY. Angkor Wat is Cambodia's leading tourism attraction, contributing to the country's foreign exchange earnings.

Cambodia is capitalizing on tourism as an increasingly important economic activity. The world-famous Angkor Wat in Siem Reap Province is still the country’s major draw despite the newer—and grimmer—tourist attractions of the Choeung Ek Killing Fields and the Tuol Sleng Genocide Prison.

To facilitate access to the northern province, ADB is assisting with developing the facilities of the Siem Reap Airport to cater to the expected increase in tourists visiting Angkor Wat. It is the second busiest of the country’s eight airports, after Pochentong Airport in Phnom Penh.

The US$15 million Siem Reap Airport Improvement Project, approved in 1996, has upgraded navigational aids, aeronautical communications, and air traffic equipment to improve airport safety. The terminal’s operational buildings are being upgraded and a new staff housing has been constructed. The airport improvement, upon completion in 2003, is expected to help increase the country’s foreign exchange earnings and create livelihood activities.

The Government is making plans with private concessionaires to further expand the Siem Reap Airport to accommodate the anticipated increase in air traffic.

ADB’s Presence

According to Pen Thirong, Chief, ADB Division of Cambodia’s Ministry of Economy and Finance, ADB’s loan portfolio of US$0.5 billion has brought physical and intangible assets to the country.

ADB, which was the first international development finance institution to assist Cambodia after the fall of the Pol Pot regime, has earned a positive reputation among the people. While ADB’s presence in Cambodia’s social and physical infrastructure sectors has increasingly become evident, ADB is now also placing greater focus on governance and economic policy reforms, including the areas of public administration, public finance and audit, and the financial sector, to ensure a sustained impact on poverty reduction.

Know more about ADB's work in Cambodia

Learn about the ADB-funded livelihood skills project in Cambodia

Read the article "Healing Cambodia's Health System"

Learn about ADB's Education Textbook Project in Cambodia

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