The Phnom Penh Post
Plans to excavate in capital dug up
A large-scale digging project is taking place in the capital in seeming direct contradiction of a longstanding government ban on the practice, a letter obtained by The Post and first-hand observation by reporters suggests. In the letter dated February 17, Phnom Penh City Governor Pa ...
The new normal: facing climate change
Last year’s drought caused a nationwide crisis, with harvests ruined, forest fires raging and many rural families struggling to feed themselves. As experts take stock of the impact, news of another potential El Niño raises a question: Is Cambodia prepared for the next drought? For ...
Government floats new pay scheme
Minister of Labour Ith Sam Heng on February 15 fingered large end-of-contract severance payments as a prime reason owners flee when their factories go bankrupt, suggesting the introduction of a yearly bonus scheme and fortnightly salaries would “reduce the risk” of garment workers being left ...
Government plugs rubber switch
The government is seeking intrepid smallholder farmers to pilot a project that would transform 6,000 hectares of cropland in two provinces into a patchwork of small rubber plantations. The Ministry of Agriculture is eyeing 5,000 hectares of land in Ratanakkiri and 1,000 hectares in Battambang ...
Party Law draws EU eyes
A European parliamentarian has submitted a “priority question” to Europe’s high representative for foreign affairs, Frederica Mogherini, urging strong action against Cambodia in response to recent threats by Prime Minister Hun Sen to dissolve opposition parties. Legislation proposed on Monday by the ruling Cambodian People’s ...
Firm putting drones to work on farms
After the technician’s countdown, “moi, pi, bai”, an AS-III fixed-wing drone launches off a catapult into the air, ascending rapidly at 25 metres per second until it is high above the Cambodian countryside. The drone, equipped with a special camera capable of detecting what the ...
Auto parts makers steer toward Poipet
For nearly two decades, Poipet was a one-trick pony, relying on the casinos huddled around its Thai border crossing for its economic fortune. But now a different type of cluster is emerging on the frontier town’s outskirts, where industrial parks are attracting predominantly Japanese manufacturers ...
Joint trade commission to foster links with Bangladesh
Bangladesh is rushing to push forward a draft proposal to form a joint trade commission with Cambodia that is expected to be signed this year, an official from Cambodia’s Commerce Ministry said on February 12. Soeng Sophary, spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce, said that ...
Young Cambodian entrepreneur launches Phnom Penh’s first female motor-scooter tour agency
In Cambodia’s capital, motorbike taxis are everywhere – but it’s extremely rare to see women drivers transporting tourists. Those who do are judged harshly. Katya Cengel meets the young entrepreneur trying to change that. When they show up at a Phnom Penh hotel in their ...
Sex worker's death haunts women of Wat Phnom
In the weeks since the suspicious death of Pen Kunthea, a pall has settled over the small community of sex workers who ply their trade around the capital’s Wat Phnom each night. For many, Kunthea’s death was not an aberration, but a grim testament to ...