A new casino and the homes of 100 residents in the northwest town of Poipet are in the way of a long-planned railway project linking Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia, officials said Thursday.
Sojhom Pheakvamony, director of the railway department of the Ministry of Public Works, said more then 100 families are living on land slated for use in the project. In addition, he said, a recently constructed casino appears to have been built precariously close to the construction site—and its owners have fenced in government-owned land.
The railway project has been planned since 1996, as part of a larger railway system that will include Thailand, Vietnam, China Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia.
Key components of the project have been built in other countries. But a lack of funds have hampered progress.
