Forty-three families voluntarily demolished illegal structures between a railway and National Road 5 in Poipet town’ Phsar Kandal commune after agreeing to resettle in Boeung Chungruk Techo Win Win new development area in Banteay Meanchey province.

Town governor Keat Hol said the families have illegally resided in the area, so were granted the land concessions by the government. Town authorities helped them demolish the structures and transport the former residents to the area’s Tuol Pongro commune in the province’s Malai district.

“The 43 families agreed to relocate … they moved onto the Boeung Chungruk Techo Win Win new development area,” he said, adding that they had returned the land to authorities for the working group to develop into a beautiful garden.

“The families are willing to demolish the structures. We just helped them. Demolition is about 80 per cent complete and we also helped them relocate,” he said.

Hun Sen's deputy cabinet chief Pankhem Bunthan, who led a working group to solve the problem could not be reached for comment. But he had previously told The Post that landowners in the Boeung Chungruk area had granted it to Hun Sen and in turn he had granted the land to 1,200 families. The land was divided into two types but had been disputed.

“We evaluated land types. The first measures 30m by 50m and the second 22m by 25m. We granted the land when we identified who should be granted with the first and second types of land,” Bunthan said.