Stung Treng, May 7, 2024 – Today, the Royal Government of Cambodia granted social concession land to 634 landless and land-poor families from across eight villages in Phluk, Sre Kor, and Samkhuoy communes of Sesan district in Stung Treng province.
The grant of the social concession land was made under the Land Allocation for Social and Economic Development Project III (LASED III) during a land allocation ceremony, held at Ponleu Samakki pagoda in Samkhuoy commune, presided over by H.E So Khan Rithykun, Secretary of State, representative of H.E Say Samal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Land Management, Urban Planning, and Construction (MLMUPC).
The 634 recipients were selected from a pool of 934 applicants who applied for social concession land from the project last February. Among the 634, 552 families were granted two types of land—residential and agricultural—per family, while 82 families were granted a plot of agricultural land each. The residential land plots measure 40m by 60m, and the agricultural land plots measure 3 hectares each.
The implementation of LASED III in Stung Treng commenced following the government's endorsement of sub-decree No. 147 on August 19, 2021. This decision involved converting an area of 3,000 hectares from the biodiversity corridor of a protected area system to private State land for the LASED III project.
The upcoming phases of the project include vital infrastructure development, such as land preparation for settling the land recipients and agriculture activities, installation of poles to demarcate the boundaries of residential and agricultural plots, construction of access tracks, a 5-room school building, health post building, a community center, community market, a small-scale irrigation system, and water supply system.
The project anticipates that the selected land recipients will be able to move and settle on their designated land by late this year, following the completion of infrastructure development on the site.
LASED III is the third phase of the government initiative that began in 2008 to allocate land to landless and land-poor families for residence and farming purpose. LASED III has been implemented by MLMUPC as Executing Agency and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries as Implementing Agency since October 2020. The project costs US$107 million, US$93 million of which is a credit granted by the World Bank and US$14 million is contributed by the Royal Government. The Project aims to improve land tenure security and access to infrastructure and agricultural and social services for landless and land-poor people and indigenous communities in Cambodia.
Currently, LASED III covers 12 provinces—Stung Treng, Kampong Thom, Kampong Chhnang, Banteay Meanchey, Odar Meanchey, Kratie, Ratanak Kiri, Mondulkiri, Kampong Speu, Preah Vihear, Battambang and Tboung Khmum. The project is set to benefit approximately 5,000 poor families, providing them with residential and agricultural land, along with livelihood improvement support. The project includes the development of rural roads, small-scale irrigation systems, primary schools, health posts, training in agricultural improvement techniques, and support for expanded services for farmers.
