Anticipating a buyout by the US Embassy, Phnom Penh’s International Youth Club will stop issuing memberships at the end of this month as a step toward shutting down the colonial-era club, officials said last week.
The club will close “either at the end of this month or the end of this year,” Youth Club manager Chea Chheng Ly said. Officials at Canadia Bank, which holds a 70-year lease on the state-owned property, declined to say why it has opted to sell the property.
Two previous operators dropped their leases when the club proved to be a money loser. US Ambassador Kent Wiedemann said last week his staff hasn’t moved on a deal since the proposal to buy the club as a site for a new US Embassy became public last month. The embassy is still exploring other options, and potential sites need to be reviewed by Washington, he said. “This involves a lot of bureaucratics and time,” Wiedemann said. “I’ve got a lot of other things to do.”
