Siem Reap province

INDIAN President Pratibha Patil and Deputy Prime Minister Kong Sam Ol presided over a groundbreaking ceremony yesterday for the Asian Traditional Textiles Museum, which is to be built in Siem Reap with funding from the Indian government.

Construction of the museum, which will be funded by a US$1.5 million grant from the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, started in June of this year and is expected to be completed by December 2011.

According to information provided by officials from the Apsara Authority, collections of traditional fabrics and cloths from Mekong-Ganga Cooperation countries – which include Cambodia, India, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines – could be exhibited at the museum when it opens.

The Apsara Authority signed a memorandum of understanding with the ICCR in 2004 to construct the museum on about 1 hectare of land in Siem Reap City.

Bun Narith, general director of the Apsara Authority, declined to comment yesterday.

Patil is currently on a six-day visit to the Kingdom.