Cambodia’s Blind-Eye

"Didn't anybody tell you guys that in the kingdoom of blinds, the one-eye blind like me is the king?"

September 3, 2010
By Ulara Nakagawa
The Diplomat

"One can only hope that the government of this vibrant and resilient nation will come to put its people’s long-term well-being first when making such major decisions that for now seem entirely about short-term gains for its economy"

It isn’t the likeliest place to house Asia’s tallest building, but Cambodia has officially made known that it plans to build a skyscraper that stands 1,820-feet (555-metres) high in its capital city of Phnom Penh. The slightly ‘off’ nature of this news hasn’t gone unnoticed by many. The Associated Press for instance states (with a hint of irony?) that the new structure will stand in ‘a dusty city of colonial villas (and) slums,’ while Reuters points out that ‘real estate companies questioned whether there was much demand for a building half a kilometre high in the capital of one of Asia's poorest countries.’

Indeed, it seems ironic that the impoverished nation, which has lately also been garnering international criticism on human rights issues, would be investing such a large sum of public funds into a building that seems to be no more than a status symbol for the government and the few well-to-do. Construction of the proposed tower, as publicly announced this week by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, doesn’t have a scheduled starting date yet, but will cost about $200 million to build.
Please click here to read more...