By:
• Teng Yalirozy

• August 1, 2024 , 5:30 PM

PHNOM PENH – Public and private sector employees and students​​​​ are to be allowed one day off on the groundbreaking ceremony of the $1.7 billion Funan Canal on Aug. 5.

Prime Minister Hun Manet issued a circular on Aug. 1, ordering that government officials, staff, workers, and students will be granted a day off after the official opening ceremony.

Large-scale concerts, exhibitions and firework displays will be held to celebrate the event.

The four-year project will provide more than 10,000 jobs and improve the lives of 1.6 million people living near the canal in Kandal, Takeo, Kampot and Kep provinces.

The canal will connect three already existing canals – the Takeo Canal of the Mekong River, the Ta Ek Canal of the Bassac River and the Ta Hing Canal in Koh Thom district – before reaching the sea in Kep province. The canal will pass through Kandal, Takeo, Kampot and Kep provinces.

The canal will be 5.4 meters deep (4.7 meters for docking depth and 0.7 meters for a safety gap) and have two lanes for entrance and exit. There will be water gates in Kandal, Takeo and Kep provinces, as well as 11 bridges and a 208-kilometer road on both sides of the waterway.

The canal is expected to help agricultural and aquacultural development along the waterway, and to create many economic zones and logistic centers, many satellite ports, and development zones for agriculture, irrigation, aquaculture and animal farming.