Cambodia plans to cut shipping through Vietnamese ports by 70% as a result of a $1.7 billion China-funded upgrade of a canal connecting the Mekong River basin to the Cambodian coast, the country\u2019s deputy prime minister told Reuters.
\nSun Chanthol downplayed environmental concerns about the Funan Techo canal slated to break ground later this year, and dismissed speculation that it could be used to allow upriver access for Chinese warships as \u201cbaseless\u201d.
\nThe project, to be completed by 2028, has the potential to reignite tensions between Cambodia and Vietnam, which are close partners but have often clashed.
\nConservationists and Vietnamese authorities have voiced alarm at potential damage to the already fragile Mekong Delta, a massive rice-producing region supporting millions of people downstream in Vietnam.
\nHowever, while Sun Chanthol said the canal would be used also for land irrigation and fishing, he said the water that would be diverted would be \u201ca drop in the bucket\u201d.
\nHe said the canal\u2019s shorter route to the sea for barges and ships from and to Phnom Penh carrying textile and raw material would reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
\nCambodia had notified the Mekong River Commission (MRC), an intergovernmental organisation for the joint management of the basin, but would not consult other countries in the region about the project, he said.
\nIf requested, Cambodia would provide additional information with the MRC, but had no legal obligation to do so, he said.
\nThe MRC told Reuters that Cambodia had not shared the canal\u2019s feasibility study despite multiple requests and two formal letters sent in August and October.
\nA spokeswoman for Vietnam\u2019s foreign affairs ministry said in a statement that she hoped Cambodia would share information and coordinate with Hanoi to assess the impact of the project.
\nRISKS FOR RICE OUTPUT?
\nCurrently, about 33% of cargo to and from Cambodia use Vietnamese ports for their global trade by sending them through the Mekong River, Sun Chanthol said, noting that with the expanded canal the goal is to reduce that to 10% \u2013 which would represent a 70% drop on current shipping volumes.
\nHowever, the limited capacity of the canal \u201cbrings its economic viability into question,\u201d said Ted Osius, former U.S. ambassador to Vietnam and currently head of the US-ASEAN Business Council, an influential advocacy group.
\nThe upgraded 180 km (11 miles) canal would be 100 metres (328 feet) wide with a depth up to 5.4 metres (18 feet), allowing barges and ships with a 3,000 deadweight tonnage to use it, Sun Chanthol said.
\n\u201cThis project has a minimal impact on the environment,\u201d he also said, noting it would discharge up to 5 cubic metres (m3) of water per second, versus Mekong\u2019s 8,000 m3 per second. \u201cThe canal is the size of a straw,\u201d he stressed.
\nConcerns remain, however, especially in Vietnam.
\n\u201cThis project can lead to the displacement of established populations, loss of agricultural lands and reduction of wetlands,\u201d said Nguyen Hung, a specialist in supply chains at RMIT University Vietnam, echoing concerns raised by Vietnam National Mekong Committee.
\nBrian Eyler, programme director on sustainability at U.S.-based think tank Stimson Center, said the canal would \u201creduce water available for industrial scale rice production in Vietnam\u201d.
\nEyler said the project requires consultation with other partners under Mekong River Commission rules because the Bassac river, from which water will be diverted, is a branch of the Mekong and not a tributary.
\nBut for Sun Chanthol the project concerns only tributaries of the Mekong, including the Bassac, and therefore does not require consultation with partners.
\nThe canal \u201cwill benefit the 1.6 million Cambodians living along the canal\u201d thanks to better irrigation for farming, Sun Chanthol said, adding that impact on the Mekong basin\u2019s water resources would be monitored.
\nCHINA
\nChina Road and Bridge Corporation, a major Chinese state-owned construction company, will develop the canal and fully cover its costs under an agreement with the government of Cambodia, Sun Chanthol said, noting the company in exchange will obtain a multi-decade concession.
\n\u201cIs it 30 years, is it 40 years, is it 50 years, that will be discussed during our negotiation,\u201d he said.
\nCRBC did not respond to a request for comment.
\nSun Chanthol said speculation that the canal could be used by China for military purposes was \u201cabsolutely untrue\u201d.
\n\u201cOur constitution does not permit any foreign military in the country,\u201d he said.
\nA Vietnam-based Western diplomat also dismissed as \u201csomewhat exaggerated\u201d warnings from Vietnamese academics about security risks for Vietnam, because of the limited depth of the canal and the size of the locks.
\n(Reuters)Canal. Cambodia, Vietnamese ports, China-funded canal<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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