Haruhiko Kuroda, president of the Asian Development Bank, will visit Cambodia next week to discuss assistance programs and future cooperation with senior government officials.
Kuroda will open a railroad rehabilitation initiative and sign a $71 million grant and loan package, said Argun Gosawmi, the ADB’s Cambodia director.
Opposition lawmaker Yim Sovann said Cambodia still faced critical issues surrounding corruption and the loss of $500 million yearly, even as 34 percent of the population lives under the poverty line.
Cambodia is facing a widening gap between rich and poor, as well as instability due to land theft, he said, calling on the international community and leaders such as the ADB—one of the country’s biggest donors—to raise the issue of corruption with the government.
Minister of Public Works Son Chanthol said Wednesday the railroad would be rehabilitated with the help of the ADB package.