Anchor Moy wrote: ↑Sat Nov 21, 2020 1:26 am

Soyoung123 wrote: ↑Fri Nov 20, 2020 2:22 am I'm sure they set it up so its ready for slots and tables. Licking their chops and waiting for gambling laws to change from "Siem Reap" to "inside Angkor"

What, are you suggesting that they might "re-zone" a protected area ?

No. They do not do that here.
It would be wrong. So it could not happen.
See!

Dead set, i have seen this reasoning used - often.
or the more common variant of the joke
"No, it did not happen.
That would be against the law.
So it could not have happened!"

So laugh - it's hilarious (if you are in a good mood)

NagaCorp CEO Gains Cambodian Citizenship
2 min read
Vann Vichar
| Mon Jan 18, 2021 7:19 pm
The Malaysian billionaire owner of the NagaWorld casinos received Cambodian citizenship in October, according to official documents, opening an opportunity for the tycoon to become a sole owner of land in the country.

Chen Lip Keong, who founded NagaWorld’s parent company NagaCorp in 1995 and has a Forbes-estimated net worth of $4.4 billion, was granted Cambodian nationality in a royal decree signed on October 19 by Senate president and acting head of state Say Chhum. King Norodom Sihamoni was in China at the time for one of his recurrent health visits.

The royal decree came just one month before NagaCorp announced to shareholders that it obtained a 50-year lease on 75 hectares of land neighboring Angkor Archaeological Park for a new resort and theme park development.

NagaWorld’s public relations department did not respond to emails regarding Chen’s citizenship.

Supreme Court spokesperson Ouk Kimcheat confirmed that Chen had been sworn in as a citizen last year but said he did not remember the date.

Kang Sokhon, director general of the Interior Ministry’s general department of identification, added that many foreigners had applied for citizenship last year but he had not noted their occupations.

According to a VOD analysis of available government records, Chen was among 275 individuals of 20 different nationalities who received Cambodian citizenship in 2020, with 220 of them Chinese.

As a new citizen, Chen can buy land solely under his name and can serve as a co-owner with foreign investors.
https://vodenglish.news/nagacorp-ceo-ga ... tizenship/

Planned resort and water park threaten ancient heritage of Angkor Wat in Cambodia
Unesco has expressed alarm that the development will encroach onto the protected zone of the World Heritage site
Anna Sansom
18th February 2021 12:09 GMT

The Cambodian heritage site of Angkor, which encompasses the sprawling ancient temple complex of Angor Wat as well as the surrounding landscape, could be threatened by the forthcoming construction of a vast resort and theme park, much to the alarm of Unesco.

Hong Kong-based company NagaCorp announced in November that the Cambodian government had granted its subsidiary a 50-year-long, renewable lease to develop 75 hectares of land located around 500 metres south of the protected zone of Angkor.
Unesco says its World Heritage Committee will be examining the development of the planned resort © Flickr

Pitched as Angkor Lake of Wonder, the development will includes hotels, a water park, conference halls, pubs and other tourist facilities. The initial phase should be completed by 2025 and cost around $350 million. NagaCorp also plans to organise “Cambodia country tours” linking Angkor to its casino-hotel, NagaWorld, in the capital, Phnom Penh.

The planned development has troubled Unesco, whose International Coordinating Committee for Angkor (IIC-Angkor) held a video conference on 26 and 27 January in which the construction project was discussed.

Unesco says in a statement to The Art Newspaper: “The technical advice of experts in the fields of conservation and sustainable development were clearly unfavourable to it. The project’s proximity to the protected buffer zones of the [Angkor] site as well as the scale, scope and concept of the planned activities could indeed have an impact on the Outstanding Universal Value for which Angkor was inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, including its setting, surrounding landscape, the environment and archaeological remains, all of which are an integral part of this World Heritage property.”

According to the statement, Unesco’s World Heritage Centre has been inundated with calls from third parties expressing concern. The Paris-based organisation will be following the situation in the coming months: “Any development concerning the Angkor site will be examined by the World Heritage Committee at its 44th session in June-July 2021.”

The statement further suggests that Unesco is discussing the issue with the Cambodian government. “Unesco is convinced that the Cambodian authorities remain fully engaged in the implementation of the World Heritage Convention and will ensure that the protection of the Outstanding Universal Value of Angkor remains at the heart of decision-making processes relating to the property and its surroundings.”
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/an ... t-cambodia

Application denied.

Government Rejects Naga Group’s "Angkor Lake of Wonder" Project
AKP Phnom Penh, March 24, 2021 --

The Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts has rejected a development project entitled "Angkor Lake of Wonder" proposed by Naga Group, the owner of NagaWorld in Phnom Penh.

"After having carefully considered the proposal and taking into account comments given during the ICC's 27th Plenary Session as well as in two other subsequent special sessions held on Feb. 22 and Mar. 4, 2021, the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts wishes to state that it shares the views of the ICC-Angkor and its ad-hoc experts that the proposed 'Angkor Lake of Wonder' project put forward by the Naga Group cannot be implemented in this context," said the ministry in its press release issued yesterday evening.

According to the press release, the project was proposed for consideration during the 27th Plenary Session of the International Coordinating Committee for the Safeguarding and Development of the Historic Site of Angkor (ICC-Angkor) on Jan. 27, 2021.

Through the ICC-Angkor, as a State Party to the 1972 Convention, the Royal Government of Cambodia under the leadership of Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo HE, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, has been highly effective in fostering and maintaining excellent cooperation among the concerned parties working in partnership with the APSARA Authority in implementing preservation and maintaining the balance between conservation and development in Angkor, a world cultural property of humanity, said the source, stressing "The ICC-Angkor has been recommended as a model for other World Heritage sites of such complexity and significance."

"Angkor Lake of Wonder" is a US$350 million non-gaming resort in Siem Reap province, on an area of 75 hectares near the Angkor Archeological Park. The project includes high-end hotels, a water theme park, indoor hi-tech theme park, a canal, water cruise attractions, MICE facilities, and so on.

By Lim Nary
AKP

Nikkei Asia has a more detailed story on the rejection.

Headline: Cambodia rejects Naga's plan for resort near Angkor temples

Sum Map, secretary of state for the ministry, said the decision meant the plans submitted would not go ahead. "The proposed project by Naga has been rejected," he told Nikkei Asia. "Future proposed development activities from Naga or other public or private companies need to be in compliance with World Heritage [values]."

Representatives from NagaCorp did not respond to requests for comment.

Naga financial report too:

But although the future of its Siem Reap project is uncertain, the company is moving forward on a $3 billion expansion to its complex in Phnom Penh, which will be called Naga 3. Naga also released its 2020 financial report, which reported gross gambling revenue of $869 million for the year and a net profit of $102 million. The robust result came despite a three-month government-ordered closure of casinos amid the pandemic, which has also slammed international arrivals.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Compan ... or-temples