Chinese Government provides RMB 90 million grant for Restoration Project of Royal Palace in Angkor

Project narrative

On January 11, 2018, during the 2nd Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Leaders' Meeting attended by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, the Chinese Government and the Government of Cambodia signed an exchange of notes on the Restoration Project of Royal Palace in Angkor. Then, on June 19, 2018, the Government of Cambodia and the Chinese Government signed an RMB 90 million grant agreement for the project. A project implementation agreement was signed on the same day. According to the Government of Cambodia’s ODA Database, the Chinese Government made three grant disbursements in support of this project between 2019 and 2021: an RMB 9,000,000 grant disbursement in 2019, an RMB 11,250,000 grant disbursement in 2020, and an RMB 11,250,000 grant disbursement in 2021. The purpose of this project is to restore the Phimeanakas palace and the surrounding ruins at Angkor Thom in Siem Reap, Cambodia. More specifically, the project involves the conservation and restoration of such buildings as cultural relics and ruins, archaeological work, conservation of stone carvings, prevention, and control of biological damages and display and utilization of cultural relics. Cambodia's Authority for the Protection of the Site and Management of the Region of Angkor (APSARA Authority) is the agency responsible for project implementation. According to the China-Cambodia Government Angkor Monument Protection Task Force, project implementation officially commenced in November 2019. As of April 4, 2021, the project appears to have been split into two phases, with the Chinese Government providing RMB 45 million of grant funding for each phase. Phase 1 activities began on November 30, 2019 and were originally expected to reach completion by December 31, 2023. Phase 2 was originally expected to commence on January 1, 2024 and reach completion on November 30, 2028.