KEP: The Kep Provincial Administration has started to reorganize the infrastructure in the province, preparing public sidewalks along the coast of Kep City in preparation for the SEA Games triathlon, which Kep will host in May, and the Sea Festival which the province will host at the end of 2023.

The Governor of Kep, Kheng Yuan, told EAC News that the provincial administration has dismantled vendor stalls and removed umbrellas along the beach, replacing them with two- to three-meter-tall trees to provide shade for tourists, along with flooring granite and a new sign that says "I love Kep".

He explained that this provincial beautification project will be completed before the SEA Games, and also confirmed that after the new infrastructure is established, Kep will no longer allow vendors to use public roads along the beach to set up their shops, and will leave the public roads for tourists to sit and relax for free.

The Kep Governor also confirmed that a group of at least 50 vendors had expressed support for the coastal public road development project.

"The vendors have supported the new infrastructure," he said. “They are all traders with private stalls [elsewhere], they are all affluent. We will eliminate the phenomenon of taking money from tourists to sit on the beach from those traders."

Additionally, the provincial administration also plans to add more sand to the coast of Kep, prepare 200 power lines and install nearly 500 beach lights. The Governor said that the provincial administration expects this work to be completed before the end of 2023, right in time for the Sea Festival.