The construction of the new Ministry of Interior headquarters is set to break ground on November 11, while the Ministry of National Defence office buildings and conference hall are nearly complete with its inauguration scheduled for December 29.

Prime Minister Hun Sen said that given the country’s rapid development, it is now time to have decent workplaces.

According to the prime minister, the construction of the interior ministry headquarters would cost about $60 million. He also said the inauguration of the defence ministry building would be on December 29 to coincide with the 23rd anniversary of the end of civil war in 1998.

“It’s time for us to have a decent workplace. We have all seen the evolution of our nation. When we first came to Phnom Penh [after the overthrown of the Khmer Rouge], there were only a few ministries and they occupied the old ministry buildings, including the ministries of defence, economy and finance, and foreign affairs,” he said.

The prime minister made the remarks during the inauguration of the new headquarters for the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction that costs $29 million.

Defence minister Tea Banh said on November 9 that the new buildings is 99 per cent completed, with a large courtyard for the garrison, honour guard, army, press conference venue and a large auditorium which can house up to 1,000 people for national and international events.

“We will use December 29 as the inauguration day as it is the day the war ended and we achieved lasting peace. Therefore, it really means a lot and that’s why we chose that day and referred it to Samdech[Hun Sen] for approval,” he said.

According to the defence ministry report, construction of the new buildings started on June 30, 2018. It was scheduled to take 36 months and would have been completed on June 30, 2021. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, construction was postponed and was finally finished on October 31. The report did not reveal the cost of construction.