The US government will provide an extra $425,000 to the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) for it to clear the remnants of cluster bombs dropped on eastern Cambodia 40 years ago and carry out research.

CMAC director-general Heng Ratana said on Wednesday that he had signed an agreement with Rune Kristian Dale-Andresen, the director of Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) in Cambodia, on the research project worth $425,000.

The project is to be supported by the US Department of State.

In early March, the US government provided $1.6 million in aid to help support CMAC in research and cluster bomb clearance in eastern Cambodia for 12 months from March 1 to February 28 next year.

The additional funds through the NPA mean the total aid to CMAC this year from the US government has reached $2.25 million.

“This additional sum serves to support research and the clearing of cluster bombs in 744 target villages in eastern Cambodia,” Ratana said.

This is the second year the research and clearing of cluster bombs have been carried out on 2,200ha of land in eastern Cambodia, for which CMAC received $1.6 million from the US government last year.

The US is a major donor of aid to Cambodia in the clearing of unexploded ordnance left from the war era.

Other nations that have provided aid to Cambodia for the clearing of explosive remnants of war include Australia, France, Japan and the UK, as well as the EU and other international agencies.