Phnom Penh municipality this week announced plans to build a water-pumping station in Russei Keo district to alleviate floodwater in the upcoming rainy season, an area that flooded particularly heavily last year, officials from City Hall and a construction company said.
Phnom Penh Governor Kep Chuktema recently met with two land developers to discuss possible donations to the construction project, director of the municipal public works and transportation department Nhem Saran said Thursday.
Mong Reththy, director of the Mong Reththy Group, said Thursday that he along with officials from two land developers, CamKo City and Grand Phnom Penh, met with Phnom Penh Governor Kep Chuktema on Wednesday to discuss constructing of the pumping station using private contributions.
He said that at the meeting, Kep Chuktema suggested the two companies and the municipality contribute $1 million each. Though the meeting resulted in promises, no concrete agreement was made.
Mong Reththy said if both companies agree to their donations, his company would start the construction soon, before the start of the rainy season.
Kheng Ser, spokesman for CamKo City, said by telephone Thursday that his company is going to bring the governor’s request to a board members to decide a possible contribution to the project.
“We have not decided yet on the possibility of contributing. It is merely a request from the governor,” he said, adding that the board members of the company will meet to decide the matter.
Kep Chuktema and Mao Maly, CEO of KYP Group that owns Grand Phnom Penh housing development, could not be reached for comment Thursday.
An official from KYP Group, who also attended the meeting with the governor Wednesday, said on condition of anonymity that his company is happy to contribute to the water-pump project, but he wants City Hall to seek more donations from other business people and rich land owners in the area.
