PHNOM PENH: Representatives of the Japan-Cambodia Association (JCA) met with the Minister of Water Resources and Meteorology to present and seek solutions for the issue of Prek Tnaot river flooding. The meeting took place both in person and over videoconference on Thursday.

During the meeting, representative of the JCA, Koji Kanzak, presented a number of proposals for measures to manage incidents of floods, and the accidents and damage caused by the flooding of Prek Tnaot river as well as the Mekong.

The Minister of Water Resources, Lim Kean Hor, expressed his belief in Japan's proposed settlement of the irrigation system, saying that Mr. Koji Kanzak had extensive experience in dam and road construction, having come to Cambodia in the 1960s as a technician for the construction of the Prek Tnaot River Dam in Kampong Speu province. The solution proposed from representatives of JCA include a water resource management plan to effectively prevent floods for the benefit of people's livelihoods and socioeconomic development both now and in the future.

The meeting between the Minister of Water Resources and representative of the JCA came after the President of the Association in Cambodia, Takahashi Fumaiki, asked for Prime Minister Hun Sen’s permission to bring Japanese investors to Cambodia in order to contribute to finding a solution to the flooding problem of Prek Tnaot river, which particularly affects people during the rainy season.

Prek Tnaot River originates from Oral Mountain and flows through Kampong Speu province, the border of Kandal province and Phnom Penh before reaching the Bassac River. For the last two rainy seasons, the flooding of Prek Tnaot river has affected the people living along the river, especially those living by the rice fields in Khan Dangkor and Khan Kampol, Phnom Penh. In 2021, the flooding of Prek Tnaot river affected more than 3,000 families, equivalent to more than 11,000 people.