Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Monday that a total of 6.7 billion dollars in Chinese loans and investment capital is being used to rebuild the country's infrastructure. Hun Sen said the money was being spent on development work including six hydropower projects plus the reconstruction of roads and improvements in the agricultural and tourism sectors in the war-scarred nation.
"A total of 6.7 billion dollars of Chinese capital has been used in Cambodia," the premier said during a ceremony marking the construction of a Chinese-funded bridge. Hun Sen thanked the "Chinese government and people for helping Cambodia in its efforts to develop the country" without attaching "complicated conditions" to their money.
"Chinese aid helps Cambodia not only to develop in socio-economic terms but also helps to strengthen Cambodian political independence," he added. China, a former patron of the Khmer Rouge regime, routinely gives Cambodia hundreds of millions in aid outside the international donor structure. In December foreign donors pledged nearly one billion dollars to Cambodia. It has been repeatedly praised by Hun Sen for not attaching any conditions to its money.