Representatives from Yunnan Construction Engineering Group Corporation (YNJG), China, in Phnom Penh on Thursday signed a contract with the deputy of the Council of Ministers of Cambodia to construct a new office building for the central organ of the Cambodian government.

 

Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister in charge of the Office of the Council of Ministers Sok An was present at the ceremony. The project was a realization of one of the aid promises made by Premier Wen Jiabao during his visit here in April this year.

 

YNJG General Manager Shen Jinzhu and Yim Nolla, president of the Economic, Social and Cultural Observation Unit of the Council of Ministers, signed the contract.

 

The US$32.5 million worth of project will become another landmark in the capital city and a new symbol for the Chinese-Cambodian friendship, said Duan Jinzhu, charge d'affaires of the Chinese Embassy.

 

China will stick to its consistent policy of extending aid to the kingdom unconditionally and sincerely and China expects Cambodia to have a sound economy and a stable society, he added.

 

Yim Nolla said at the ceremony that the 39.5-meter-high building with seven floors above the ground and one below will be finished in a 19-month period.

 

Thursday's contract was a result of the close cooperation and coordination between the Cambodian government and the Chinese engineers, who have stayed here since April this year to study and complete the construction plan, he added.

 

According to the contract, the new office building will be situated in the backyard of the Council of Ministers beside the Russian Boulevard, with its construction space at around 33,000 square meters.

 

(Xinhua News Agency December 1, 2006)