Phnom Penh says the $1.7 billion project is economical, as Vietnam worries it could be used by Chinese warships.
Cambodia has launched a controversial canal project to link the Mekong River to the sea.
Work on the $1.7 billion project began on Monday. Phnom Penh hopes the canal will boost the country’s economy. However, there are concerns about the impact on the region’s environment and foreign relations.
The Funan Techo canal will start from a spot on the Mekong River about an hour’s drive southeast of Phnom Penh and run to the Gulf of Thailand. It is scheduled to be completed in 2028.
The canal, a pet project of former Prime Minister Hun Sen, is also seen as an inspiring national undertaking aimed at garnering support for his son and successor, who took office last year at the end of his father’s 38-year rule.
The government declared Monday — which is also Hun Sen’s birthday — a holiday so Cambodians could “participate in the festivities with joy, crowds and pride.”
At the inauguration, Hun Manet described the 180km (110-mile) project as “historic” and said it would give the country “room to breathe”.
“This project is not just an infrastructure project, but a nationalistic endeavor,” Hun Manet said. “We must build this canal at all costs.”
Uncertainty
Despite hopes, the project remains mired in uncertainty, and neighbouring Vietnam is particularly concerned.
Cambodia hopes this waterway will shift exports away from their current reliance on Vietnamese ports.
There are also concerns about the role of China, which Phnom Penh has said is going to partly finance the project.
Concerns have grown to the extent that some worry the canal could be used by Chinese warships. Beijing’s ally Cambodia held its biggest joint military exercise with China in May.
In December, two Chinese warships made their first visit to Cambodia’s Ream naval base, raising fears about China’s growing influence in the Gulf of Thailand.
Cambodia has repeatedly denied that the base is for use by any foreign power.
The canal’s impact on the environment is another major concern.
Conservationists have long warned that the Mekong, which supports a quarter of the world’s freshwater fish catch and half of Vietnam’s rice production, is under threat from infrastructure projects, pollution, sand mining and climate change.
