Vietnam lacks sufficient information to assess impacts of Funan Techo canal project

During the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regular press meeting on May 9, in response to questions regarding Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sun Chanthol's statement emphasizing that the country is not neglecting to provide official and unofficial information about the Funan Techo canal project, Spokeswoman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pham Thu Hang confirmed that the information Vietnam has obtained at this time is not sufficient to assess the impacts of this project.

“Vietnam expects that Cambodia will continue to closely coordinate with Vietnam and other countries in the Mekong area to share full information and assess the detailed impacts of this project on water resources and the ecological environment of the Mekong River basin sub-region,” Ms. Hang elaborated.

Previously, on May 7, Mr. Sun Chanthol declared that Cambodia had notified the Mekong River Commission (MRC), an intergovernmental organization for the joint management of the basin, but would not consult other countries in the region about the project. “If requested, Cambodia would provide additional information to the MRC, but had no legal obligation to do so,” he said.

The Funan Techo Canal project was approved by the Cambodian Council of Ministers in May 2023. It aims to connect the Phnom Penh river port with the Gulf of Thailand in southwestern Cambodia, passing through the provinces of Kandal, Takeo, Kampot, and Kep. According to documents submitted by Cambodia to the Mekong River Commission in August 2023, the Funan Techo Canal is scheduled to commence operations in 2028.

The estimated cost of the project is 1.7 billion USD, and it is expected to be implemented by a Chinese company through a build-operate-transfer (BOT) model.

Under the 1995 Mekong Agreement, projects affecting the mainstream of the river must undergo a "technical review" by the MRC and receive input from member countries, including Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand.