Sunday, June 17, 2012
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| Link: Cambodians ride a bamboo train on a reopened a stretch of line. Photo: Reuters |
June 17, 2012
Philip Heijmans and Tom Hyland
WA Today (Australia)
''In order to physically build the railway, more households may be affected and additional resettlement may be required''
AN AUSTRALIAN-funded rail project in
Cambodia has been marred by poor construction, botched surveys leading to the evictions of families,
infighting between contractors, delays and cost overruns,
a leaked official report shows.
It also reveals that workers on
the project endure unsafe working conditions without proper accommodation, clean
water or hygienic toilets.
The disruption is exposed in a
report by the international consortium funding the $143 million project -
Australia's international aid agency AusAID and the Asian Development
Bank.
Australia
has pledged $26 million to the project, which is already at the
centre of controversy over the resettlement
of thousands of people forced to move by construction work.
Frustrated by delays, the
Australian company Toll Holdings, part of a joint venture that was to
operate the railway when construction was complete, suspended its role
in March.
The project involves
rehabilitating or building 641 kilometres of track, with the aim of
integrating Cambodia with a regional network including Vietnam and
Thailand.
It has come under fire from
Cambodian human rights groups after disrupting more than 4000 families
living along the tracks, of whom 1050 had to move home.
The report, prepared by AusAID
and ADB experts in April and May, found existing problems were far from
resolved, and also exposed new issues.
It reveals that botched survey methods on
part of the line misjudged where construction would take place.
The mistake, discovered only in
April, means more people might have to move.
''In order to physically build the railway, more households may be affected and
additional resettlement may be required,'' it
says. ''This is a major issue for all stakeholders and must be resolved
as a matter of urgency.''
The report reveals defects and
''poor construction methodology'' on parts of the line and criticises
foreign consultants for a ''lack of control and poor supervision'' early
in the work. Construction is being carried out by France's TSO (Cambodia) Co
Ltd and engineering by Japan's Nippon Koei Co. The
French company declined to comment, while the Japanese company could not
be contacted.
The report says the relationship
between the two companies has become ''strained'' and it calls on them
''to develop a more amicable and mutually respectful mode of
co-operation''. It urges Cambodia's railways department to take a more
active role in promoting ''a non-adversarial environment focused on
completing the works'' and managing the project - tasks the department
is reluctant to take up.
The report says railway
officials relied on consultants to do routine management, even though
they were meant to take over day-to-day operations after Toll pulled
out.
Toll has a 30-year concession to
operate the network in a joint venture called Toll Royal Railways, with
a conglomerate owned by Australian-Cambodian tycoon Kith Meng.
Toll has made no public
statement on its withdrawal from the project.
''I am not in a position to
comment at all,'' said Andrew Ethell, Toll's general manager for
corporate affairs.
But in a leaked letter dated
March 16, Toll Royal Railways informed the Cambodian government it would
suspend operations until next year because delays meant the project was
not profitable.
Work on the southern part of the
line was due to be finished by May last year, but it is now 335 days behind
schedule and will not be complete until October this year, although
heavy rain could push this back until 2013.
Work on the northern part was
due to be complete by the end of this month. The report says it is
''possible'' the work will be done by September next year.
On labour conditions, the report
says, despite improvements, workers' camps in the south were ''mostly
garbage-strewn and water supply in some camps [was] not regularly
replenished''. Camps in the north ''lacked basic provisions (proper
accommodation facilities, safe water supply, hygienic toilets, etc)''.
Last month the Australian
embassy in Phnom Penh said it was aware of poor working conditions and
inappropriate surveying methods and had asked the project's partners to
investigate. Consultants on the project and the ADB have admitted to the
Cambodian press that the project is running out of funding and requires between $50
million and $100 million to complete, a shortfall the ADB has refused
to pay.
An AusAID spokeswoman said
problems revealed by the report were not uncommon for such complex
projects. Despite this, she said it was making good progress and was on
track for completion by 2015.
The report highlighted a lack of
accountability in Australia's overseas aid program, said Gareth Bryant,
a campaigner with the AID/WATCH activist group.
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