A Siem Reap construction company signed a 35-year contract last weekend to transform two temple ruins 150 km from Siem Reap into tourist attractions, government officials said Monday.
Kham Someth Construction Ltd, which proposed the joint-venture project to the government three years ago, will invest $21 million to rebuild roads, restore the temple area and construct motels, businesses and a golf course near the temple ruins, the company’s owner said Monday.
The route from Siem Reap to the temple ruins at Koh Ker and Beng Malea is currently inaccessible. The first task for owner Kham Someth is to rebuild 105 km of road from Phnom Kulen in Siem Reap’s Svay Leu district to the Koh Ker temples in Preah Vihear province’s Kulen district.
Besides increasing tourism to the area, Kham Someth said the road will help about 400 families who live in Sayong commune, an isolated community in the Banteay Meanchey province.
“I’m so sad for them,” Kham Someth said. “They have no road and no hospital for their children.”
When the project is completed, the company plans to charge tourists between $5 and $10 to visit the ruins. Kham Someth will keep 65 percent of the profits, with the rest going to the government.
The investment company will break ground on the build-operate-transfer project next week; it expects the road from Phnom Kulen to the Koh Ker temples to be completed within the next year.
The ancient ruins contain more than 100 temples built between the years 921 and 941. The temple sites are a three-hour drive from Siem Riep. The development is designed to attract cultural and eco-tourism, said Chuch Phoeurn, undersecretary of state for the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts.
Chuch Phoeurn said the development of the ruins must follow a royal decree issued by the government. The temples will be managed by the Apsara Authority, and the entrance fee will be collected by Kham Someth.
“The company will not control the temple complex,” Chuch Phoeurn said.
