Kratie (September 12, 2023) – The Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction, in collaboration with Kratie Provincial Department of Land Management, Urban Planning, Construction and Cadastral, organized a ceremony to announce the “Adjudicated Areas for Local Social Land Concessions to implement the Land Allocation for Social and Economic Development Project, Phase III (LASED III).”
The ceremony was presided over by H.E. Rath Vireak, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction (MLMUPC), representing H.E. Deputy Prime Minister Say Samal, Minister of MLMUPC.
The event was held at Kbal Damrei Lower Secondary School in Ou Taneng village, Kbal Damrei commune, with the participation of Ms. Chamroeun Mudita, Tasks Team Leader of the World Bank; H.E. Va Than, Governor of Kratie Province; as well as representatives and officials from the MLMUPC, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the World Bank team, provincial, district, and commune authorities, relevant line departments, and local communities—totaling approximately 466 participants.
The project site announced as the adjudicated area for implementing the Social Land Concession Program is located in Kbal Damrei commune, O’Kreang Senchey district, Kratie province, covering an area of 845.11 hectares.
LASED III is a project of the Royal Government of Cambodia, implemented by the MLMUPC as the executing agency and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries as the implementing agency, since October 2020. The project has a total budget of USD 107 million, of which USD 93 million is a loan from the World Bank and USD 14 million is counterpart funding from the Royal Government of Cambodia. The project aims to support landless and land-poor families and indigenous communities in Cambodia by improving land tenure security and access to better infrastructure, agricultural services, and socio-economic support.
Currently, LASED III is being implemented in 12 provinces: Stung Treng, Kampong Thom, Kampong Chhnang, Banteay Meanchey, Oddar Meanchey, Kratie, Ratanakiri, Mondulkiri, Kampong Speu, Preah Vihear, Battambang, and Tboung Khmum. Approximately 5,000 landless and land-poor families are expected to receive residential land, agricultural land, and livelihood support.
Infrastructure development under the project includes the construction of rural roads, small-scale irrigation systems, primary school buildings, and health posts. The project also provides agricultural technical training and support for the delivery of additional essential services to beneficiaries.
As of August 2023, the project has achieved several key results, including:
(1) selection of 11 Social Land Concession sites in 9 provinces;
(2) official declaration of 9 Social Land Concession sites in 7 provinces (Banteay Meanchey, Oddar Meanchey, Stung Treng, Ratanakiri, Kampong Thom, Mondulkiri, and Kampong Chhnang) as adjudicated areas for implementing the local Social Land Concession Program under LASED III;
(3) commencement of beneficiary selection processes in 5 provinces; and
(4) commencement of land-use planning in 5 provinces, with one site already approved.
At present, the project team is facilitating the registration of indigenous community land in Kratie, Mondulkiri, and Ratanakiri provinces, covering a total of 7 communities. Most of these registrations have reached Step 5 of the 7-step process under the indigenous community land registration procedures of the MLMUPC. The project plans to support the registration of 15 indigenous community lands across the target areas.
In 2023, the project team is preparing commune land use planning for 50 communes in priority sites where Social Land Concessions and indigenous community activities are being implemented across the target provinces.
The Team is accelerating land registration and land use planning processes and anticipates that essential infrastructure development—including land preparation, water supply systems, and rural roads—at 6 of the 15 LASED III project sites will be completed by the second quarter of 2024. As a result, approximately 2,000 landless and land-poor households are expected to relocate to the new sites to begin building new lives.
