KEP: Senior Minister of Public Works and Transport, Sun Chantol, officially inaugurated a new landfill in Kep this morning, shortly after doing the same for a new landfill in nearby Kampot.

Both landfills are part of the Asian Development Bank’s Greater Mekong Subregion Tourism Infrastructure for Inclusive Growth Project and are meant to boost tourism numbers by maintaining a clean environment. The Kep landfill is larger and more costly than the one in Kampot, coming in at 14 hectares and a cost of $10 million USD.

The Kep landfill is made of four pits which are estimated to collect 600,000 cubic meters of trash over 20 years. Construction started on May 15, 2020 and completed on October 31, 2022.

Kep Provincial Governor, Som Piseth said that the landfill in Kep is a brilliant achievement that helps manage the province's solid waste and added that the tourist destination will greatly benefit aesthetically in addition to improving the well-being of its citizens. According the governor, the landfill will also be used to process waste from the surrounding provinces.

Senior Minister Sun Chanthol echoed the governor’s statement, emphasizing the benefits the landfill would provide to the environment and the people for both Kep, and its provincial neighbors.

On the morning of May 30, the ceremony took place to inaugurate both new landfills in Kep and Kampot. Combined, the projects cost an estimated $13 million USD.