Dozens of families living along the railway tracks in Banteay Meanchey province have been told they must be relocated as the authorities prepare to construct roads and renovate the line.

Seventy-two families in Sisophon district’s Kbal Spean village were told they would need to move to make way for the development, which will link Phnom Penh with Poipet town on the Thailand-Cambodia border.

Uo Mao, 47, said the local authorities had planned to demolish their houses at the end of the month.

“People in the community agreed overall with the development plan, but we want more expenses paid for our moving costs,” she said.

Um Reatrey, deputy provincial governor, said that the authorities planned to complete the relocation of the families by mid-September or early October, but owing to recent rains, these plans were only tentative.

“We want them to file requests to the town authorities if they want more for expenses, and we will do our best to review their claims,” he said.

In April, officials said that they would speed up the relocation of 900 families living on the railroad near the Thai border to facilitate the development of an international rail system.

The Cambodia Railroad Renovation Plan is part of efforts to construct the Kunming-Singapore Railway, which would connect mainland China with several cities in Southeast Asia.