The government will spend some $4 million on the Land Allocation for Social and Economic Development Project Phase II (Lased II) to benefit almost 600 families in Prasat Balang district’s Doung commune in Kampong Thom province.
The land allocation is aimed at alleviating poverty in five northeastern provinces, easing the hardships of the homeless, and providing 18,000 families with agricultural land, said Dok Doma, the director of Lased II.
Kampong Thom provincial governor Sok Lou told The Post on Wednesday that Lased II has received loans from the World Bank, with the government leading it’s roll out nationwide.
“This national project with $4 million loans is being used to develop Doung commune. However, any infrastructure development such as roads, schools and hospitals are directly run by the national team,” Lou said.
He said 500 out of 600 families living in Prasat Balang district have already signed a contract to receive land for farming and cultivation through Lased II.
Lou continued that as part of the project, the government has provided residents with seeds and agricultural instruments, as well as built infrastructure in the area to improve the standard of living.
“All citizens obtained 30m by 40m of land to live on and 2ha of agricultural land for each family. The citizens receiving this social land concession are very poor and do not currently have any land for their livelihoods,” he said.
Nuon Kumnit, chief of staff at Prasat Balang district police, said people in her district are delighted to receive the land and she believes it will reduce the number of Cambodians going abroad to work.
“Previously, the people’s living standards in this district were very low since they did not own land for building a house and planting crops. However, after getting this social land concession, they seem to be very happy,” she said.
Doung commune chief Chun Chen said 600 poor families have so far received land concessions as part of the Lased II, while a further 551 families have signed a contract for obtaining land.
“Citizens here are farmers, but most lack land and some do not possess any land at all. This project has had a very positive impact on their living conditions, and they are now very happy and are staying focused on planting some crops,” he said.
In July, The Post reported that the government is due to launch Lased III from 2020-2025 to the tune of $60 to $90 million.
