Cambodia Breaks Ground On China-Funded Canal Despite Vietnam's Concerns

Cambodia has begun the construction of a controversial, China-funded canal to link the capital Phnom Penh to the sea, despite environmental concerns and the risk of straining relations with neighboring Vietnam, Sopheng Cheang and Aniruddha Ghosal reported for the Associated Press (AP).

The $1.7 billion, 180-kilometer (111-mile) Funan Techo canal is designed to connect the country’s capital with Kep province on Cambodia’s south coast, providing access to the Gulf of Thailand. I Photo: Ly Lay, Xinhua

The $1.7 billion, 180-kilometer (111-mile) Funan Techo canal is designed to connect the country’s capital with Kep province on Cambodia’s south coast, providing access to the Gulf of Thailand.

Cambodia hopes the 100-meter (328-foot)-wide, 5.4-meter (17.7-foot)-deep canal will lower the cost of shipping goods to the country's sole deep-sea port, Sihanoukville, and reduce reliance on Vietnamese ports.

Analysts suggest that the infrastructure project is partly an effort by Cambodia’s ruling elite to bolster support for Hun Manet, who took over the government from his father, Hun Sen, last year after 38 years in power.

The project highlights the significant role that China plays in Cambodian politics and the economy.

Meanwhile, concerns persist about the potential environmental impacts of the canal, particularly on the flow of the Mekong River, which sustains millions of people across six countries through its fish and agriculture.

Vietnam is worried about the canal’s effects on its Mekong Delta rice-growing region and about Cambodia moving out of its sphere of influence, said Nguyen Khac Giang, an analyst at Singapore’s ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.