Cambodia adds facilities

Government says it will build a convention hall and a butterfly centre will open near Siem Rea.

Cambodia Prime Minister Hun Sen said Cambodia will build an international standard conference hall in Phnom Penh, mainly to serve the diplomatic events.

The conference hall will be constructed with government funds on a site next to the new Council of Ministers building.

It would take 15 months to complete, he said. The decision was prompted by plans for Cambodia to host a series of regional conferences in the coming years, including three regional meetings next year and two ASEAN summits in 2012.

Meanwhile a new tourist attraction, the Angkor Butterfly Centre, is scheduled to open for visitors in early October.  The privately funded centre is being built in Sanday village, about 25 km from Siem Reap and will double as a poverty alleviation project. The centre is an offshoot of a similar venture in Tanzania, the Zanzibar Butterfly Centre.

Revenue for the Siem Reap centre will initially be generated by tourism admissions, but in time income will also come from the sale of butterflies and butterfly pupae to collectors, zoos and other centres mainly in Europe and the US.