A Phnom Chumreay International Military Police Training Centre being built on 5,000ha in Kampong Chhnang province’s Samaki Meanchey district is as an important component in strengthening the Kingdom’s national defence sector, senior officials said.

Deputy commander of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) and commander of the National Military Police Sao Sokha, RCAF deputy commander-in-chief and commander of the army’s infantry Hun Manet, and Ministry of Economy and Finance secretary of state Vongsey Vissoth touted the centre during a visit on Monday.

“The importance of this training centre is to contribute to strengthening the national defence sector and army capacities. When we speak about strengthening army capacities, we have to speak about training and that depends largely on the training site,” Manet said.

The multi-functional training centre can be used not only for national and international sporting competition, but also for RCAF training. It is expected to be used by Military Police personnel, infantry units, as well as navy and air force personnel.

“[This centre] has advantages. The first is to pool resources in building a standard training centre that we can use. The other is to pool basic resources for training including trainers, infrastructure and accessories. We don’t have as many of these items as a major power.

“The installation of equipment is an important task for training our armies to succeed more effectively,” he said.

Sokha thanked people for their contributions to building the centre on the site that was formerly forest land.

“The Military Police are proud. The importance of building the training centre is part of a long-term strategy for Cambodia,” he said.

Vissoth said the training site is satisfactory and effective. Construction, he added, was carried out according to plan with high-quality standards.

“This location will serve as a large training site to help our troops improve quality capacity for national missions defending national sovereignty, territorial integrity, protecting internal security or rescuing people from disasters,” he said.

The training centre cost roughly $13 million from the national budget to construct. Grants from national and international development partners were also used.

National Military Police spokesman Eng Hy told The Post on Tuesday that everything for training, such as multi-school buildings, classrooms, water facilities and accommodation, are already done.

“We started developing the construction of this training centre between 2009 and 2013 and we have been building it continuously,” he said.

The project is expected to be completed before the end of 2023.