Preah Sihanouk to remove more than 1,000 shop-houses for flood mitigation

Preah Sihanouk to remove more than 1,000 shop-houses for flood mitigation

Preah Sihanouk Provincial Hall will demolish more than 1,000 illegally built shop-houses and homes along the banks of canals and on the sidewalks in Sihanoukville to facilitate flood mitigation projects.

Bou Vathana, deputy director of the provincial inter-sector department, said yesterday the authorities plan to widen the canals and tear down the shop-houses and homes built on sections which have been earmarked for the projects.

“The projects will affect more than 1,000 homes, some of which will be completely demolished while portions of others which encroach into the project sites will be removed,” he said. “About 300 homes are to be completely torn down.”

Mr Vathana said that provincial governor Kuoch Chamroeun wanted to protect the city from flooding during heavy rains.

“We met the affected residents a month ago to explain the situation and will issue eviction letters before tearing down the houses of those who do not agree to move out on their own,” he added. “Those who have illegally built their houses along the canals have agreed to take down the structures on their own.”

Mr Vathana said Mr Chamroeun is looking into providing social land concessions to those who will be homeless or to those who are poor.

“We have thought about the impact. Unlike what some people say, we care about the difficulties which people are facing,” he added.

Mr Vathana said Provincial Hall believes that flooding in the city will be reduced once the canals are widened.

“If we do not upgrade the drainage system in Sihanoukville, the city will continue to face serious flooding,” he said. “We are not targeting legally built homes but only those in areas which have been measured by the land management officials and were found them to be illegal.”

Floods in the middle of last year inundated parts of Sihanoukville and the province’s Prey Nop district. Two people died and hundreds of homes were damaged.

Provincial Hall announced in August that it will repair and widen canals in the city to alleviate the damage caused by the floods.

Prime Minister Hun Sen in November announced the government will spend $170 million to also tackle waste disposal problems in the city, adding that the Chinese government donated $600 million for the purpose.

Last month local authorities began demolishing the homes of 29 families in the city’s Buon commune but the work was suspended, after seven houses were destroyed, due to strong protests from residents.

Mr Vathana said yesterday the authorities will resume the demolishing of the homes in the commune today after some residents agreed to remove their belongings from their houses.

A joint working group comprising Provincial Hall, land management department, city and commune officials yesterday demolished nearly 20 shop-houses along a canal in the city’s Bei commune.

Toem Tevy, 35 who lost her seven metre by eight metre shop-house, said yesterday she is not going to protest against Provincial Hall’s action but urged the authorities to suspend the demolishing.

She said she bought the shop-house in 2005 and previous governors before Mr Chamroeun had allowed her family to stay there.

“I am not against Provincial Hall’s efforts to develop the city. I just want them to give us some compensation,” Ms Tevy said, adding that authorities gave her very short notice to move out.

Pon Sinat, 41, another resident, said yesterday he wants Provincial Hall to consider providing him with a social land concession to build a new house.

“I have lived here for almost 10 years and now they just came and destroyed my shop-house,” he said.

He agreed with Ms Tevy that Provincial Hall should provide social land concession to the residents in exchange for leaving their homes.