Boeng Tamok Evaporates Under Government, Developers’ Gaze

Under a white tent decorated with chandeliers and gold-footed chairs, the wife of a Defense Ministry official spoke of peace, stability and development at a property launch in March.  She then quickly pivoted to selling her audience on 5-by-22-meter plots at the fast disappearing Boeng Tamok lake in northern Phnom Penh.

Almost two years before, part of the 8.2-hectare plot being marketed by the woman, local entrepreneur Ean Helen, was first granted to 23 families in August 2020, in what was supposed to be a concession to “original owners” of homes on the lake.

Now that more than 1,800 hectares of the lake’s 3,200-hectare area has been parceled off using sub-decrees to government agencies and well connected individuals, real estate companies are descending on the newly-created land as residents in the area anxiously wait to see whether authorities evict them from the lake.

read more https://vodenglish.news/boeng-tamok-evaporates-under-government-developers-gaze/