An international market near Svay Rieng province’s border crossing with Vietnam is scheduled to open today, Rasmei Kampuchea newspaper reported Thursday.
The Bavit International Market, which the paper called a duty-free zone, will not charge rent on its 288 stalls for the first 12 months, according to the report. The paper said the project required an investment of $2 million.
The site manager said last month the political climate and economic slowdown had caused the owners, Mieng Ly Heng Import Export, to push back the official opening date.
The market, located in Bavit commune, Chantrea district, was nearly completed in early 1998 but Mieng Ly Heng stopped work before the election. He did not know at the time how many of the stalls had been rented out, but believed that some traders had withdrawn from the project.
Work on the market was begun in 1994 by a company that subsequently went bankrupt and the building was sold to Mieng Ly Heng, according to local officials.
