PHNOM PENH: The Governor of Phnom Penh, Khuong Sreng, has urged officials to study and develop a project to repair infrastructure such as roads, bridges, canals and sewers after the flood of Prek Tnaot river damaged some infrastructure last month. This is also in order to prevent the threat of flooding around the Prek Tnaot area in the coming years.

The Governor led the Capital Hall and local authorities to inspect the situation in some of the main canals along Prek Tnaot river, as well as the flooded areas of Dangkor District on Thursday morning.

He particularly inspected the condition of the drains along the concrete road on the way to Ta Mart Lake in Moul Village and Sambour Village in Dangkor District. After the inspection, the Governor urged the building of a new sewer first, and then a road to relieve the flooding in the area above.

The building of the sewer on the concrete road to Ta Mart Lake is expected to extend the sewer network’s length from 450 meters to 729 meters. The drainage system is also expected to extend to a total length of 996 meters.

The Governor also inspected the condition of Choeung Ek Canal in Kamrieng Village in Prey Veng Commune, which plays an important role in diverting water from National Road 3 to Choeung Ek Lake. He requested the officials of the specialized departments to propose a project to build a bridge in Kamrieng Village by installing sluice gates. The canal is also planned to be widened to 15 to 16 meters.

He confirmed that the water levels of Prek Tnaot River steadily rise from year to year due to the high level of development along the riverbank, which makes greater amounts of water flow into the river alone. In response to this issue, the Governor stated that the Phnom Penh Capital Administration will raise the dam along the Prek Tnaot delta to a higher level to prevent further flooding in the coming years.