The multi-billion dollar development project in the coastal city of Sihanoukville has stirred discontent among locals and fuelled environmentalists’ worries.
SIHANOUKVILLE, Cambodia : From the shady poolside cabanas of a newly opened beach club, only the buzzing of nearby passing sand-dredging ships disrupt the serenity of Cambodia ’s largest ever coastal development.
Sand has been poured at such a rapid pace that even Google Maps has yet to catch up with the reality that what has always been water, is now land. For now, aside from a few well-heeled thrill-seekers and the workers continuing to lay the city’s sandy foundations, it is mostly deserted and incomplete.There are growing fears among observers that the entire project could end up resembling a ghost city, undermined by shaky financial foundations, environmental concerns and growing scrutiny of the influential business group undertaking the ambitious construction.
For years, they have endured in the elements - unwilling to be forced away like most of their old community. “Living here, it's hard. I don't know what job I can do. At the old place, it's close to the sea, which makes it easy for me to go fishing so I can earn money,” he said.Instead, he now looks out to a barren, dry landscape, flies buzzing around the faces of young children and the ever-growing piles of trash.
CNA reached out to Canopy Sands for comment on the ways it communicates and deals with the community. “In a country where so many people live on land that still isn’t titled, people are vulnerable to land grabbing and forced evictions when powerful individuals or companies set their sights on a piece of land,” said Ms Naly Pilorge, outreach director for Phnom Penh-based human rights organisation, Licadho.
Some Cambodians have increasingly come to view the city - the region’s largest and about 30 minutes’ drive from Ream Bay - as a nexus between mafia and rampant illicit activities. Thousands of captive workers trapped in shadow industries were rescued from Sihanoukville compounds, while the General Department of Immigration reported that 447,000 Chinese nationals left the country in the aftermath.
“We have to solve it, we have to fix it, and now security has been established and the safety in place is even better than some other cities in the world. It’s just not 100 per cent yet,” he said. But in a press statement about the project in 2021, its CEO for ASEAN Yeo Choon Chong spoke of the “immense potential” of such “iconic infrastructure projects”.
Prior to the government ban, Macau-based consultancy IGamiX estimated that annual gaming revenue driven by Chinese investments was between US$3.5 billion and US$5 billion. Some 90“You have to look at the economic foundations.
Since Prince began operations in the country in 2015, the outfit has grown rapidly across various industries to become a multibillion dollar empire. It has been a significant player in the development of Sihanoukville over the past decade.Mr Chen Zhi, originally from Fujian, is recognised as a ‘Neak Oknha’, roughly translating to ‘His Excellency’ in Khmer, a title that carries with it much influence and a direct channel to the upper echelons of Cambodia’s political leadership.
“Prince Holding Group does not engage in money laundering or illegal activities, and has not transferred or received funds in the manner alleged, or through the entities named in the article. Prince’s chief communications officer Gabriel Tan told CNA that the reporting done by RFA was “racist, reductionist and clearly motivated by resentment”. He said that the allegations were “rumours and tenuous links”.
The potential troubles facing Prince - and the fluid but strong relationship between Beijing and the new government in Cambodia, led by Mr Hun Sen’s son, Mr Hun Manet - has onlookers concerned about where the vast sources of money needed to finance the Bay of Lights will come from. Canopy Sands said it has “actively engaged with a diverse group of international investors” beyond China, from Singapore, Korea, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia and Thailand, “showcasing the project's global appeal and its potential to redefine urban living”, according to Mr Chen.
“I think that has not been helpful in the relationship between your biggest, most important neighbour in the region.” “That has created a skyrocketing bubble. Right now, construction is having a life of its own,” Mr Virak said. No cost to Prince Holding Group is mentioned for two parcels of land - a 427-hectare and a 407-hectare sized reclamation. The third - planned to be an elaborately-shaped group of reclaimed islands - was handed to Prince in exchange for the conglomerate building, a wastewater treatment facility on a nearby beach strip.
Likewise, Chinese-financed plans for an international airport, deep-water seaport, industrial park and luxury resort facilities have been abandoned around Botum Sakor National Park, a project that was estimated to cost an initial US$3.8 billion. Cambodia has a chequered history with sand dredging along its coastlines and rivers. To build a city of such grand scale in the middle of the sea requires a whole lot of sand.
“We are not merely building a project; we are nurturing a sustainable and inclusive future for Sihanoukville, with every step taken reflecting a genuine effort towards environmental responsibility,” Mr Chen said. By 2021, the country’s Mines and Energy Ministry opened up concessions for sand dredging along more than 2,000 hectares of the southern coastline, in order to “restore waterways” and correct marine areas that had become too shallow.
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