Decision Time at White Building

[geovalin]

Residents of Phnom Penh’s iconic White Building were presented with two options yesterday: take a $70,000 payout for their apartment or live in Phnom Penh’s Teuk Thla commune for three years while the structure is renovated. The 50 people representing the 554 families living in the White Building were given the ultimatum yesterday at a meeting with local authorities, Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction Minister Chea Sophara as well as a representative of Japanese company Arakawa, which will be handling the renovation project.
 

According to an announcement on the Land Ministry website, a study on developing the White Building showed that it will cost up to $70-$80 million, including temporary accommodation for its residents. They plan to make the building 21 floors, with three floors of parking, one floor for stores and five floors for accommodation – which they claim will be 10 percent larger. Arakawa will own everything from the ninth floor up and it is unclear what they plan to put there.
 

A citizen representative of the White Building residents, Sem Savuth, said they were told the project would take three years to fully finish before they would be allowed back into their new homes. “We are worried that we won’t get our house back after the temporary move like what happened in Borei Keila and Boeung Kak, but the minister said if we take the homes in the White Building, we will get the deed or title after it is 70 percent done,” he said.

 

read more http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/31387/decision-time-at-white-building/

 

 

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