After two years and seven months of construction, a new complex housing 26 provincial departments in Siem Reap was officially inaugurated on land that once belonged to the Apsara Authority.

Defence Minister Tea Banh on Sunday presided over the inauguration of the complex, which consists of 26 departments built over 6 hectares of land, according to Siem Reap Governor Kim Bunsong.

“The total budget for building the Siem Reap departments centre is 76 billion riel [about $19 million],” Bunsong said in a Facebook post.

In a post yesterday, Banh claimed that the new administration centre, by having all departments in one location, will facilitate processes and improve relations between the public and provincial civil servants.

Reached by phone yesterday, Slakram Commune Chief Kieve Sot agreed that the new location would make matters easier for citizens.

“It helps to make administration work easier for people and officials – when people need to do anything urgently and we have all departments in the same place, they do not have to go far and spend time to look for them,” he said.

Chau Sun Kerya a spokeswoman for the Apsara Authority, which oversees the Angkor Wat temple complex, confirmed that the land had been taken from the authority by government order and given to the province for building the provincial departments.