Minister of Interior Sar Kheng announced that the exceptional health and safety standards being practiced at the construction site of the new ministry headquarters is an excellent omen for the staff who will work in the facility in the future.

While meeting with construction workers at the site in the capital’s Chamkarmon district on April 11, he said the new building was now 80 per cent completed and that the quality assurance and safety protocols had not been allowed to slip.

“This building will not just be used for one or two years, it will serve the next two or three generations of Cambodians. Therefore, maintenance will play a major part. It is well that high standards are being maintained,” he said.

“The excellent safety record of the site also bodes well for the facility, as this will have a positive effect on the psychology of the officials who work here in the future.

“I hope the remaining 20 per cent of the project will go as well as it has so far. Some buildings in the past have suffered difficulties during construction, and this has affected their futures. My hope is that for the rest of the project, you all continue to comply with the health and safety regulation and look after each other,” he concluded.

Touch Kim, general-director of Kimmex Construction and Investment Co., Ltd. which is in charge of the construction, said groundbreaking took place in November 2021, with the project expected to be completed at the end of June.

“We have been working for 18 months, and have completed 80 per cent of the contract work. There are between two and three thousand labourers, engineers and architects working on this site. All of them are adhering to the health and safety regulations we put in place,” he said.

“We regularly conduct safety inspections, and closely monitor all staff on site to make sure they are meeting our high standards for industrial safety,” he added.