A man rides along a beach with unfinished buildings seen in the background in Sihanoukville in March. Hong Menea
Preah Sihanouk provincial deputy governor Long Dimanche announced that an inter-ministerial body is preparing to address the requests of the owners of unfinished buildings in the coastal province.
On July 26, Dimanche said that in order to resolve the issue of deadlocked buildings, inter-ministerial meetings have been held to define procedures for receiving requests and suggestions and to divide responsibilities. A secretariat has been established at the provincial hall, the provincial chamber of commerce and at the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
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He explained that these venues will accept suggestions and requests from building owners as well as landowners, and are an attempt to resolve disputes outside the court system.
“We have received one or two requests, and are preparing to reach an agreement on the division of responsibilities and roles within the framework. We will continue to work on this,” he said.
He explained that provincial authorities have not yet been able to confirm the total number of buildings and projects where construction has stalled, as the inter-ministerial body would determine the precise figure, but estimated that the number could be more than 400.
“Any projects where construction has been halted need to be identified and classified, so it can be determined which ones need to be addressed and which should benefit from a government incentive package,” he noted.
On July 13, Dimanche and Em Pheap, also a provincial deputy governor, met with officials of the provincial administration and chamber of commerce to promote the implementation of measures that would revise stagnant investment projects in the province.
According to the administration, the meeting not only served to promote the implementation of measures, but also to prepare local working groups to accept requests for resolutions from project owners or developers and move towards finding out-of-court settlements, in line with the win-win spirit of the government.
The administration said the meeting also addressed some of the challenges related to the legal aspects and documents that will be used to resolve deadlocks.
