The Phnom Penh Post
Officials from the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction, the Ministry of Tourism, and the Ministry of Environment are working closely to devise a campaign to cut down on environmental pollution caused by unmitigated development in Cambodia’s four coastal provinces – Sihanoukville, Kep, Kampot and Koh Kong.
Senior Minister Im Chhun Lim of the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Constrution spoke in a seminar on Monday in Sihanoukville about increasing Cambodia’s judicial standards for coastal management and development, which includes, specifically, Sihanoukville’s coastal renovation campaign.
“The construction industry contributes much to the economy’s growth, and we can also see the rapid growth of this industry here in Sihanoukville. The industry is a big part of tourism development, which will potentially provide further growth to the economy,” Im said.
However, he added that with that potential comes a risk of endangering the Kingdom’s coastline if solutions are not laid out in advance.
“The growth of the construction industry in these areas has resulted in a severe threat to the coastal environment, and we need to be proactive in solving this environmental problem to ensure a sustainable development,” he said