Work on the new $20 million National Assembly building has begun on a 2-hectare site next to the Buddhist Institute on the riverfront.
Since early January, five bulldozers, an excavator and a steamroller have been clearing the vacant land, formerly owned by the UN Development Program, and filling in trucked-in soil.
Chan Ven, deputy general secretary of the National Assembly, said Tuesday that about $120,000 is being used for the landfill and fence-building phase of the project.
“We have begun working step by step,” he said. “[But] for construction of the new building, it is up to the design makers.”
The assembly is asking private construction firms and architects to submit designs for the new buildings. The invitation reportedly came after criticism from opposition lawmaker Son Chhay, a member of the construction committee.
“One design was already made without public knowledge,” said Son Chhay, demanding that the design be put up for bids.
Officials said the new building should be designed in classic Khmer style, and include one 360-seat meeting hall, office space for the 122 lawmakers and nine commissions and various administrative offices.
Chan Ven said the building should be large enough for the National Assembly’s parliamentarians and administrators to work “for the interest of the people and the nation in a better manner.”
Officials have said that the National Assembly has outgrown its headquarters, which underwent $420,000 in repairs, including a new roof and annex, last year. A completion date has not been set, since officials lack the funds to pay for the entire construction.
Chan Ven said this year’s national budget allocates just $2 million for the project. He said if construction were to move forward without a full allocation, the necessary funding would be set aside in the annual national budget in each of the next several years.
