Illegal Timber to Become School Buildings

Cambodia’s schoolchildren could soon attend class in unusually luxurious buildings if Prime Minister Hun Sen has his way. Yesterday the premier granted the government’s entire stockpile of illegally-felled timber – some of which is highly sought after rosewood – to the Ministry of Education to construct new school buildings.

A request to build more schools in the Kingdom was made by Education Minister Hang Chuon Naron during the closing ceremony of his ministry’s annual meeting. Shortly after, the premier made his announcement about where the wood would come from. Mr. Hun Sen ordered all relevant officials to facilitate the process, also calling for courts to expedite crucial case hearings related to confiscated timber so it could be used more quickly by the education ministry.

Mr. Naron made his request in light of challenges faced by the ministry, one of which is the need for 200 new school buildings. “The ministry received requests from all provinces to construct more than 200 school buildings,” he said.

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