China-aided rural water project in Cambodia completed

KAMPONG CHHNANG -- The second phase of the China-aided rural water supply project in Cambodia has come to an end, constructing 964 pumping wells and 54 community ponds in 10 provinces, officials said here on Thursday.

Speaking at a ceremony to mark the completion of the two-year project, Cambodian Minister of Rural Development Ouk Rabun expressed his profound gratitude to the government and people of China for funding the project, which was essential to boosting rural economy and livelihoods.

He said China had fulfilled the dream of the Cambodian rural people who had longed for clean water, saying that all people in the project's areas would no longer concern over clean water shortages, even during dry seasons or droughts.

"These wells and community ponds will undoubtedly contribute to improving rural people's living conditions, reducing poverty and boosting rural economic growth as well as narrowing the development gap between urban and rural areas," Rabun said at the event which was taken part in by more than 200 local authorities and residents.

The minister also praised Chinese and Cambodian project teams for working hard to complete the project successfully and efficiently, even in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 10 beneficial provinces in the second phase project are Kampong Chhnang, Svay Rieng, Prey Veng, Kampot, Kampong Speu, Pursat, Banteay Meanchey, Kampong Cham, Siem Reap, and Battambang.

Wu Guoquan, economic and commercial counselor of the Chinese Embassy to Cambodia, said that from late 2017, the projects, in Phases I and II, had built more than 1,800 community wells and nearly 130 community ponds in 16 Cambodian provinces.

"I believe that these wells and ponds will improve access to clean water, reduce illness from water-borne diseases, and enhance rural people's livelihoods," he said.

Wu added that the water project was just one of the many China-funded projects designed to help boost the socio-economic development and poverty reduction in Cambodia's rural areas.

"People-to-people friendship holds the key to sound state-to-state relations," he said. "This project will not only enhance the sense of closeness between the two peoples, but also nourish the towering tree of friendship between China and Cambodia."