Adult, rehabilitation centres planned for Tbong Khmum
Voun Dara | Publication date 25 June 2020 | 21:58 ICT
The Tbong Khmum provincial administration plans to build an adult care centre, a rehabilitation centre and a children’s centre (SOS Children’s Village) on 27,380sqm of land in 2021 to provide social welfare to the people, according to provincial governor Cheam Chan Sophorn.

Sophorn said this at press conference entitled “Progress and ongoing work direction of Tbong Khmum provincial administration” on Thursday at the Council of Ministers.

He confirmed that the centres would be built and added that other infrastructure projects were also planned for the area.

Expressing his gratitude to Minister of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation Vong Soth for preparing the location, he said: “We have the land already but we have not put up the buildings yet. Soth will build them soon. They are a great achievement for our province.”

The government has paid great attention to poor and disabled people in Tbong Khmum and helped 2,009 disabled poor people in Ponhea Kraek and Memot districts from February 1 to June 22.

There were 1,585 poor pregnant women and children under two years old who received help. The government spent 527 million riel on the programme, Sophorn said.

He said there is one city, six districts, 64 communes, 873 villages and 196,065 families in Tbong Khmum.

The GDP of the province in 2018 was $1.2 million while the GDP per capita was $1,410. The poverty rate was 10.15 per cent last year.

Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation department director Un Lum Orng told The Post on Thursday that the gate of the adult care centre and the rehabilitation centre had been built.

The construction will be suspended until 2021 or until the Covid-19 situation improves.

Lum Orng said: “We suspended building the adult care centre due to Covid-19. We will build this centre to take care of poor elders. They can live in this centre.” He said 10,000 elders in the province have registered to stay there.

Ministry spokesman Touch Channy said on Thursday it typically has land to offer for different infrastructure projects throughout the provinces.

“The ministry is now building an adult care centre in Phnom Penh. The provincial administration (Tbong Khmum) also requested to assist in building an adult caring centre. The ministry does not have plans to create the centres in all municipalities and provinces yet,” he said.