"Displaced residents of land for new airport offered land swap", 27 August 2021

Kandal provincial governor Kong Sophorn told … that 11 families who don’t want to accept a cash settlement for their land within the construction area of the new international airport can choose a “land swap” instead.

“To speed up the government’s plan to build the new Phnom Penh International Airport on time and to finish this issue, if the people don’t agree with the compensation, Kandal Provincial Administration will provide the land swap for them,” said Sophorn…

CAIC, the company building the new airport, had offered compensation to residents.

“The government mediated that the company would pay $8 per square metre for people’s land in the construction zone,” said Sophorn.

… Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (Adhoc) director Ny Sokha said … that his NGO urged the government to resolve the dispute with no violence and to divert a lawsuit based on constitutional law.

He said the compensation that the government and company offer the people should be set by studying the fair market value. “The money should be enough so they can buy another plot of land to live and they should have flexibility about when to leave their land,” he said.

“The authorities and the company should not push people to accept the compensation if they don’t agree with it,” said Sokha. “Because it’s not just for the people.”…