PHNOM PENH: Minister Delegate to the Prime Minister, Jean-Francois Tain, said that Vietnamese leaders had raised some concerns about Cambodia’s canal projects affecting the Mekong tributary in Vietnam while meeting with Prime Minister Hun Manet this week.

Upon returning from the state visit from Vietnam on Tuesday night, Mr. Tain held a press conference where he confirmed that Cambodia’s plan to connect the Bassac River to the sea in Kep would not affect Vietnam.

"The Funan Techo canal project is an important project that the PM confirmed to the Vietnamese side will not cause a negative impact on the flow of the Mekong River and other rivers,” he said. “[It will] maintain environmental stability, ecology and natural habitats for biodiversity. In general, for the benefit of Cambodia's trade in the short and medium term, it will not cause water flow and environmental problems to neighboring Vietnam, according to practical studies."

Cambodia plans to dig a 180-kilometer-long canal from the Takeo canal on the Mekong River, through the Ta Ek canal of the Bassac River, then into the Ta Hing canal of the Bassac River, Koh Thom district, and then to the sea in Kep province. According to the plan, the government project will mostly use existing waterways and connect them.

The construction is estimated to take about 4 years, with plans to spend approximately $1.7 billion US.