Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday made a public appeal to the South Korean government for an extra $10 million – on top of $52 million already provided – to complete the second phase of a road project.

Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Road 21 project in Kandal, Hun Sen asked the South Korean Embassy to forward his request to President Park Geun-hye because the amount already provided would leave construction of the 8- to 10-kilometre second phase unfunded.

“I think it will not be difficult for Korea because they have provided millions of dollars to Cambodia in the past,” he said. “So $10 million should not be hard.”

The 61-kilometre road, connecting Kandal and Svay Rieng, was expected to cost $61 million of which $52 million was provided as a low-interest loan by Korea and the rest financed by the Cambodian government.

Hun Sen said that a large portion of the funding had to be used for resettlement compensation.

The South Korean Embassy in Phnom Penh declined to comment on the Prime Minister’s request.