- Tweeter
republish
In Cambodia, a building under construction collapsed early in the morning in Sihanoukville this Saturday, June 22. The construction site held by a Chinese investor would not have received the necessary authorizations. In recent years, the coastal city has become one of the symbols of the many Chinese investments in the Cambodian Kingdom, of which Beijing is today one of the main developing partners. But the speculative and real estate frenzy is at the heart of the debates.
With our correspondent in Phnom Penh, Juliette Buchez
In the early morning, workers on the site found themselves trapped under the rubble. The balance sheet is currently seven dead and twenty wounded. But it could get heavier, while workers are still buried. We do not yet know the reason for the collapse of the building. Four Chinese nationals, including a construction site supervisor, are questioned by the police.
In a few years, the coastal city of Sihanoukville has become the stake of important investments coming from China. In 2018, one-third of tourists in Cambodia were Chinese, and a quarter of them said they came to do business there. Sihanoukville is today far from the postcard image that made its reputation. It is a real open-air construction site supposed to become a coastal destination of high standing.
The police reportedly twice asked for a stop
The number of buildings of more than five floors has increased from 188 in 2017 to 238 in 2018. The rapid development of the city is based in particular on the opening of dozens of casinos, mainly by and for this new Chinese clientele. There were about fifteen establishments in 2015, compared to nearly 90 today.
Rising rent prices, garbage management problem, rising crime, discharges of polluted water into the sea: the consequences of this real estate frenzy are criticized by many activists. The building that collapsed did not receive the necessary authorizations and the police asked twice for the stoppage of the building site. The building was 80% finished when it fell on Saturday morning.
► See also: Relations between China and Cambodia are in good shape