Government makes $6m from land concessions

The government earned $6.6 million in revenue from economic land concessions (ELCs), despite the fact that less than half of the firms granted the concessions paid rental fees, according to a report presented to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights.

In the report, handed to UN’s Rhona Smith by Minister of Agriculture Veng Sakhon on Monday in Phnom Penh, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries said it received $6.6 million from 229 companies that were given ELCs.

It said that ELCs now cover 1,178,646 hectares of land in 19 provinces.

Srey Vuthy, the ministry’s secretary-general, said only about 40 percent of ELCs generate revenue for the government. He explained that firms that have not started to develop the land do not pay rent.

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