Royal Group’s Sihanoukville port to be razed







A government committee has ordered tycoon Kith Meng’s Royal Group to stop construction of a passenger port it was building on Sihanoukville’s Otres Beach, which it said was in clear violation of coastal development guidelines and had progressed without a permit.

The National Committee for Cambodia Coastal Management and Development issued a directive yesterday for the Cambodian conglomerate to cease construction of the 40 metre by 15 metre dock that was to be used to ferry passengers to a luxury resort the group is developing on Koh Rong island, 25 kilometres offshore in the Gulf of Thailand. The directive instructed provincial authorities to dismantle the unlicensed structure and oversee the return of the beach to its pristine state.

“The Preah Sihanouk governor is requested to advise the Royal Group to stop construction and restore the area to its original condition,” the announcement reads.

The company will now have to find a new location for the port, ensuring minimal impact to the tourist-friendly beach, and obtain prior permission before going ahead with construction, the announcement says.

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/r ... ign=buffer

Place your bets!

Raybull wrote:Place your bets!

What are the odds, for and against at this moment of time.

Where on Otres is it? What a disaster. Such a nice beach ruined with a pier.

crummyjuggler wrote:Where on Otres is it? What a disaster. Such a nice beach ruined with a pier.

Beginning of Otres 2. And yes, it's an eyesore. Not to mention the sound of the construction work which drowns out the lapping of the waves and any pretense that you are on a pristine beach, even with eyes closed.

It seems the Royal Group not happy with that and they say they got permission from the previous Governor.

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/r ... dock-otres

Talks are in progress for the Royal Group to lease part of Sihanoukville port to construct a tourist port for transport to the islands. This sounds like a better idea than turning Otres Beach into a transport hub.

The Kingdom’s largest conglomerate, Royal Group, is in talks with the government to lease a section of Sihanoukville Autonomous Port for its plans to develop Koh Rong, Cambodia’s largest island, officials said this morning following a meeting at the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction with Royal Group chairman Kith Meng.

The National Committee for Cambodia Bay Management and Development will ask the government to allow Royal Group to build a facility inside the port to expand transport from Sihanoukville to nearby islands, including Koh Rong, ministry secretary of state Pen Sophal told reporters after the meeting.

This follows a letter from the National Committee for Cambodia Bay on Management and Development ordering a stop to all construction on Otres beach, where Royal Group had been building a pier...

http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/20765/ ... cial-says/

Everyone seems to be playing nice for once. Now to see if the Otres pier will be destroyed and the beach restored.

Wikileaks told us that Kith Meng was the bagman for you know who and it makes sense when you see his property portfolio. What is the dynamic here though?
Kith Meng also owns the top end of Occateul which was the Customs or Police land from the pier southwards for a few hundred metres.
He has been remarkably lucky in the lottery for the ex State land that he was allowed to purchase.

Kind of interesting to see what they government actually has the juice to shut down. HE said no new buildings around Phsar Thmey. Yet somebody put up an eyesore 8 storey building on the square. HS said stop, and now I see they not only went ahead and finished, but are expanding. Same with that building behind the Museum. HS said stop and they finished anyway, and nothing happened. The world did not end. He did have some success shutting down construction on that new building a few doors down from FCC. HS told them to shut down, and they did, at least for a while. And I wonder why. Did they have to acquiesce because they aren't connected enough to HS, or because they are too connected? Royal is about as connected as you can get, so maybe they'll have to do what he says.