PHNOM PENH: The Secretary of State and Spokesperson for the Ministry of Environment, Neth Pheaktra, has mentioned the collection of an environmental sanitation service fee, which will go into supporting the Ministry’s environmental management and protection in Cambodia. He added that in the future, the Ministry will also consider collecting a fee for water usage services.

Speaking at the press conference on the five-year progress of the Ministry of Environment at the Council of Ministers on Tuesday morning, 30 August, Spokesperson Neth Pheaktra said that he would work further with the capital-provincial environment departments to meet with restaurant owners and hotel owners to explain why the state has to collect a fee for environmental services.

He stated that this collection is to contribute to the protection of the general environment that all business owners contribute to.

"The important thing is that I think we have not done it before, and when we do, we hope to gain the understanding of the people," he said.

He added that with the collection of environmental sanitation service fees, the Ministry is also considering collecting a fee on water usage, in order to contribute to wastewater treatment systems.