China’s funds have dried up, and many Cambodian airports are facing unfinished business. (Image via AP)
Chen Lizhu/Verification Editor
[Financial Channel/Comprehensive Report]China’s economy is in a sluggish state, and many Belt and Road infrastructure projects are beginning to suffer from lack of funds. Japanese media revealed that many airports in Cambodia are in danger of being unfinished due to the depletion of Chinese funds. There is also an airport that has been under construction for 15 years and has not yet been completed.
“Nikkei Asia”reportMondulkiri Province in Cambodia plans to spend US$80 million to build an airport. However, due to the withdrawal of Power Construction Corporation of China, the originally promised airport runway may never be completed.
Observers said the choice of the remote Mondo Kiligai airport was odd. The area borders Vietnam and is one of the most sparsely populated areas in Cambodia, with just over 13,000 residents in the provincial capital city and almost no tourist attractions.
The unfinished airport is just one of several in Cambodia that are in various stages of development and whose economic viability is questionable. Chinese investors have also retreated in recent years as investment in China’s Belt and Road Initiative has slowed. Eventually, these airports may end up in ruins.
Ou Virak, founder of the Cambodian think tank Future Forum, said of the Mondulkiri project: “I don’t see any economic basis behind it, I don’t see domestic demand and tourists. Any sudden influx of hope”.
Analysts say that when Cambodia promotes costly Chinese-funded infrastructure construction, political interests often outweigh economic interests. Cambodia has received billions of dollars in Belt and Road infrastructure funding. Now Chinese investment has cooled down, leaving a mess for the local area. Cambodian authorities said they were looking for new financing partners, and the government signed an agreement with a consortium in January to conduct a feasibility study.
Not only did Chinese capital withdraw from the Mondulkiri Airport construction project, but a new airport in Phnom Penh also lost Chinese funding in 2021. A Chinese state-owned enterprise gave up most of the funding for the US$1.5 billion airport bid, and the Cambodian partner-Overseas Cambodian-Chinese Investment The company (OCIC) had to issue bonds and put in its own capital to fill the gap.
Although officials claimed that these investments would promote local development, the unfinished airport instead caused land conflicts. Residents near the Mondulkiri Airport construction site say they are being evicted from their homes without receiving fair compensation. The airport’s investor, Overseas Chinese Investment Corporation (OCIC), did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesman for the Cambodian Civil Aviation Authority said authorities were working hard to resolve residents’ concerns.
The same problem arises with the Koh Rong airport project. Some Cambodian officials have compared Koh Rong Airport to Dara Sakor Airport, which was built with assistance from the Belt and Road Initiative. However, the Dara Sakor Special Zone has been signed for 15 years, and the development process of Dara Sakor Airport has also led to large-scale evictions of villagers, which still exists today. Unfinished. Koh Rong villagers said they were forced to leave their land; some were worried that their houses would be demolished at any time, making them unable to sleep every night.
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2024-02-23 13:11:54
