White Building to be Renovated

While residents of the iconic White Building in Phnom Penh’s Chamkar Mon district welcome a Ministry of Urban Planning and Construction project to develop the pre-Khmer Rouge-era structure, it remains to be seen whether the development will move forward without issues. Minister of Land Management Chea Sophara met with a delegation from Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, including Deputy Minister Hideki Miyauchi, on Friday.

During the meeting, a Memorandum of Understanding about the White Building’s refurbishment was discussed. Land Management Ministry spokesman Cheam Sophal Makara said yesterday that the ministry’s Housing Department general director inspected the White Building last week in cooperation with City Hall.

“Before doing each project, we need to clearly collect all information related to the project first. So the relevant officials went to check the situation and as the experts in the ministry, we will plan this project after we collect all the information,” Mr. Sophal Makara said. “What the ministry has already said, they will always do. It could have many other procedures related to the project such as a census and an evaluation of the building’s quality, like what if we keep the building? What kind of risks will occur?

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