The 38-road construction project in Siem Reap province’s Siem Reap town is now 89.39 per cent complete as senior officials urge people to help maintain this infrastructure due to its importance to the domestic and international tourism industries.

The progress announcement was made after Minister of National Defence Tea Banh, Minister of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction Chea Sophara and Minister of Public Works and Transport Sun Chanthol jointly inspected the construction on November 13.

The completed portions include the construction of the roads and drainage systems as well as the installation of equipment such as security cameras, street lights, traffic signs, traffic lights and landscaping.

“As of October 30, rehabilitation of the Siem Reap River on both banks starting from Rok Rak Bridge down to Ang Krapeu – a total of 9,050m – including 100 per cent demolition of makeshift constructions and removal of stalls from the riverside, the restoration of mud from the bottom of the river and the prevention of landslides along the riverbanks as well as improvements like the installation of seating and green landscaping is now 66 per cent complete,” the transport ministry said.

Public works minister Sun Chanthol said that when the project is complete, it will beautify Siem Reap town and contribute to national economic growth as well as providing better connections from the town to remote areas.

Defence minister Tea Banh praised the working group responsible for the project’s implementation for renovating Siem Reap’s riverside area to benefit all stakeholders and he urged people to take care of these areas and make them welcoming to national and international tourists.

The 38-road construction project in Siem Reap town has added, repaired or upgraded a total of 108.74km of area roads. The estimated costs for the planned 13 months of construction are nearly $150 million and all of the work – which began on November 30 last year – is scheduled to be completed by year’s end.

Tea Banh also noted that Hun Sen had recently decided to provide over $3.8 million in additional funding for the construction of a car park along National Road 6 which will be over 2km in length.

He said the money would also be used for linking homes into the state sewage and rain drainage networks with more than 12,000 new connections made as part of the 38-road project.

Kong Rattanak, acting president of the Institute for Road Safety, said he could not yet assess the full extent or impact that the project would have on Siem Reap.

But he believed that the project overall would bring great benefit to society in the long run and therefore both officials and citizens should work together to ensure its maintenance and proper management because the absence of either will lead to damaged roads and increased accidents.