- Title: Cambodia to begin construction of China-funded Mekong canal
- Date: 5th August 2024
- Summary: NASHIK, MAHARASHTRA, INDIA (AUGUST 05, 2024) (ANI - No use India) TEMPLES AND SURROUNDING AREA INUNDATED BY OVERFLOWING GODAVARI RIVER SRI GANGA GODAVARI TEMPLE PARTIALLY SUBMERGED UNDERWATER IDOL OF HINDU MONKEY GOD HANUMAN PARTIALLY SUBMERGED IN WATER OVERFLOWING GODAVARI RIVER (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) SRI GANGA GODAVARI TEMPLE PRIEST, SHEKHAR SHANKAR SHUKLA, SAYING: "Devotee
- Embargoed: 19th August 2024 08:56
- Keywords: cambodia funan techo canal hun manet mekong
- Location: KANDAL PROVINCE, CAMBODIA
- City: KANDAL PROVINCE, CAMBODIA
- Country: Cambodia
- Topics: Asia / Pacific,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA002438705082024RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Manet on Monday (August 5) inaugurated the construction of a controversial Chinese-funded canal that will connect the Mekong River basin to the coast, a project that would potentially cut shipping through Vietnamese ports by 70 percent.
The $1.7 billion project funded by China Road and Bridge Corporation, a major Chinese state-owned construction company, is expected to be completed by 2028 and has the potential to reignite tensions between Cambodia and Vietnam, which are close partners but have often clashed.
Conservationists and Vietnamese authorities have voiced alarm at potential damage to the already fragile Mekong Delta, a massive rice-producing region supporting millions of people downstream in Vietnam.
Currently, about 33% of cargo to and from Cambodia use Vietnamese ports for their global trade by sending them through the Mekong River, officials have said, noting that with the expanded canal the goal is to reduce that to 10% - which would represent a 70% drop on current shipping volumes.
(Production: Chantha Lach, Zaw Naing Oo) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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