Tourist-Friendly Tonle Bati Next in Line as Lake Losses Ramp Up

Two-thirds of Tonle Bati lake — a popular weekend getaway — will be filled in by a developer, official documents show, as three other lakes in Kandal and a further area on Phnom Penh’s Boeng Tamok have been privatized by Hun Sen’s decree.

A tranche of government documents released Wednesday, but which date from February and March, show the privatization of 12 more plots on public water bodies, plus the reclassification of a state forest to private land in Preah Sihanouk.

Tonle Bati lake, which straddles Kandal and Takeo, will be reduced by 222 hectares handed to an individual named as Srun Bunleaph, according to a March 2 decree. A further 46 hectares of Boeng Trea, in Kandal, is further transferred to Bunleaph. An attached map shows that Tonle Bati, which the Information Ministry has touted as a “well-known cultural tourism resort” 40 km from Phnom Penh, will be filled in from the edges to leave a narrow strip in the middle.

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