About 50 villagers who live near railway lines in Phnom Penh gathered outside the Asian Development Bank yesterday morning to again demand more detailed information about what will happen to them during forthcoming phases of a bank-funded railway rehabilitation project.

Long Chandy, who represents the Tuol Sangke (B) community in Russey Keo district, said families feared further project phases will require them to vacate their homes.

Phase one of the project will affect villagers within 3.5 metres of the tracks.

Chandy said villagers had seen documents saying families living within 20 metres of the lines would be affected in further phases.

But ADB country representative Eric Sidgwick said the project “only requires a corridor of impact (3.5 meters from the center line in Phnom Penh). The issues raised … were outside the scope of the Project.… We agreed to bring their questions to the Government.”