(Phnom Penh): His Excellency Deputy Prime Minister Say Samal, Minister of the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction and Chairman of the National Committee for the Management and Development of the Cambodian Coastal Zone, said that the coastal zone is a major economic pole for Cambodia, which can provide the nation with approximately 2,000 million dollars in income per year. The Cambodian sea has fishery resources, not including beach resources for tourists, which are linked to the travel and accommodation of tourists.

His Excellency spoke at a meeting to review the progress of the Kep Province Public Beach Resort Development Project, held on the afternoon of January 8, 2024 at the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction.

His Excellency Deputy Prime Minister stated that in developing the coastal zone, several points must be considered, such as economic poles, beaches as a whole and beaches in isolation, how they should be developed, and a common vision must be agreed upon, and they must be implemented step by step and not backward. The National Committee for the Management and Development of the Cambodian Coastal Zone is a joint mechanism for coordination with relevant ministries, institutions, sub-national administrations and stakeholders. Therefore, we must all collectively consider what we need to develop along the coastal road from Kep to Koh Kong in accordance with the potential of each area to attract tourism. The strategy is to gather what we have first, and for other separate projects, we will continue to implement them later.

His Excellency said that the Royal Government of Cambodia is paying attention to the development of public beach resorts in Kep province to attract more tourists to visit the province in this coastal area, aiming to improve the living standards of the people in this province through tourism.

At the same time, His Excellency encouraged architects and urban planners to design the front of Kep provincial hall to be more beautiful to attract more tourists, jointly maintain the beach so that it does not get damaged, and gave ideas for building pedestrian or bicycle paths that can be located along the coast from Kep to Koh Kong so that people or tourists can relax or exercise for their health.