Around 60 residents from Koh Meas community in Kbal Koh district, gathered on March 14 to voice their concerns about their long awaited land title, as they fear displacement following the granting of a 50-year lease to a private company for development. Residents claim they have waited for land titles since 2020, with officials saying that a resolution would be made in accordance with government policy.
The residents met with government representatives to raise their concern over the land title issue following their protest last month. This is the third time the residents gathered to put forth their concerns.
At the meeting, a resident representative said they are worried about losing their land rights which they have been enjoying for years, but have yet to receive their title since 2020. However, a sub-decree has been granted on the land in the Koh Meas area to a private company for development for 50 years.
Chea Srey Pov, a resident of Koh Meas village, said she and the residents are expecting to receive a legal title deed, which the authorities surveyed in 2020, but they have not received any information about the title deed to date. So, when she received news that the government issued a sub-decree to develop the Koh Meas area, she was worried about losing her land which is used for livelihood, this making her life even more difficult.
Srey Pov, who grew up on that land, claimed that residents should have legal ownership of the land they have lived and depended on for many years. Regarding the development project, she said the state should consider providing fair compensation according to market value because she does not want a development which makes them victims.
“The land is valued at $5 to $8 per square meter, but if we still have land, we can farm, and we can continue to make a living. I know it is a development but they should not develop to make people suffer. We don’t want anything, only for the payment to be in line with the real estate market,” Sreypov said.
Srey Pov stressed that she is not against development, but if the development provides low compensation which does not match market rate, the people of Koh Meas will be severely affected, as they will not have enough money to pursue other activities.
“What if the land is sold cheaply and the bank loan cannot be paid off, what can we expect? So, if the developer only pays $5 to $8, the people will definitely be in tears,” said Srey Pov.
According to Sub-Decree No. 210 signed by former Prime Minister Hun Sen on December 17, 2020, the 340.6 hectares land which covers three districts – Chbar Ampov District in Phnom Penh, and L’ Vea Em and Kien Svay districts in Kandal Province – was reclassified as private state land.
The same sub-decree stated that one part of the land was transferred to the Phnom Penh Capital Administration and the other to Kandal Provincial Administration, as well as the land being leased to Khun Sear Import Export Company for development for 50 years for $5 and $8 per square meter.
Another resident, Ven Kon, 71, told CamboJA News that she has been living on her nearly one-hectare plot of land since 1979 and has a title deed from the local authority. Kon has grown various crops to earn money to support her family. The land is her lifeline, she said.
So when she heard that a company was planning to develop the area for 50 years, she became afraid of losing her land and her livelihood.
“I am worried about losing the land that I own and hearing that the project is leasing the land. People worry about that because they depend on agricultural land to support their families,” Kon said.
Hun Sokha, a government representative who met with the people, said the mechanism to resolve the issue will employ two principles. The first principle is to report to the leadership about the people’s requests, and the second is to raise the issue for discussion and resolve it according to the policy with villagers.
He said a resolution according to the mechanism is pertinent as Cambodia needs development, so when a country needs development, companies will not take on perpetual ownership. It will be developed within 50 years and returned to the people.
Regarding the land price, he said the $5 to $8 land value was proposed for the people to consider between them and the company without coercion.
“I cannot say much about the title deed. The people requested it, while the sub-decree came out like this, so we have to resolve it according to the two principles,” said Sokha.
Licadho operations director Am Sam Ath believes that the government has been very mature in resolving land issues, so he believes that the government would study the impact and compensation, as well as publicize the project to the public first to ensure that it is a “transparent” development.
“All countries need development, so before giving land to a development company in any area, there should be a settlement with the public first. If the government gives land to a development company without discussing it or resolving it with the public first, that is not a transparent development,” Sam Ath said.
In 2021, the Mekong River was filled in by tycoon Sear’s 70-hectare satellite city construction at Arey Ksat. Former residents there told CamboJA News that they were not informed of the project beforehand.
