Cambodia launches Funan Techo Canal project ^{CEFR B2}

The Funan Techo Canal had a high-profile groundbreaking on August 5, 2024 in Prek Takeo Village, Kandal province. Around 10,000 people attended and Prime Minister Hun Manet pressed a symbolic button at 9:09 am during a national holiday broadcast on state and private media.

Officials plan a 180-kilometer waterway that begins at the Mekong’s Preak Takeo tributary in Kandal, runs through Takeo and Kampot provinces and reaches the coast in Kep. The government says the canal will connect Phnom Penh to the Gulf of Thailand, link to international trade routes and bolster Cambodia as a regional logistics hub.

• Width: 100 meters; depth: 5,4 meters; vessel capacity: up to 3,000 deadweight tons.
• Length: 180 kilometers; expected completion: 2028.
• Estimated revenue: USD 88 million annually by 2050; claimed shipping cost reduction: 70 percent.
• Budget: initially USD 1.7 billion; revised to USD 1.16 billion under an April 2025 deal with China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) on a 51–49 ownership Public Partnership Contract.

Construction was reportedly halted for several months after the inauguration amid reports of "funding issues" with China; the government denied those reports. Wang Tongzhou, Chairman of CCCC, described Cambodia as an important strategic market and said the project deepens cooperation. Supporters say the canal will attract investment, create jobs and improve flood mitigation and water conservation, while officials call it a major engineering achievement and a boost to national prestige.

Environmentalists and neighbouring countries raised concerns about impacts on the Mekong, which the World Wildlife Fund says supports at least 40 million people, generates over USD 11 billion annually and hosts at least 1,148 fish species. Vietnam warned that embankments could block silt-laden floodwater and harm the Mekong Delta, risking drought in Vietnam’s agricultural "rice bowl" and in Cambodian floodplains, a concern voiced by Brian Eyler of the Stimson Center. Scientists also warned that digging could expose Holocene soil that oxidises into acid sulfate soil, producing sulfuric acid and releasing heavy metals. Vietnam’s agriculture accounts for 12 percent of its economy, and in 2024 Vietnam exported over 9 million tons of rice worth USD 5.7 billion, about 15 percent of global exports.

Analysts say the project could expand China’s economic influence in Cambodia and the region, reduce around 10 percent of trade routed through Vietnamese ports and shift trade toward the Gulf of Thailand. Local residents such as Dim Mech say they have not received official notice about compensation or relocation.