Cambodia: Sihanoukville building collapse death toll rises

A 7 story building, which was originally 2 stories but had several stories added, collapsed in Sihanoukville today.  Almost 2 dozen Cambodians were killed. That number will probably rise.

Sihanoukville used to be a small resort town for fishing, beaches, and backpackers with relatively small buildings, and compared to today, a much lower crime rate. Cambodians would go there on vacation with there families.

Then came China. A few years ago, China started something called the Belt and Road Initiative. A world wide initiative to invest TRILLIONS of dollars in development that will ultimately in debt the poor countries where they are investing.  One of the places were a few billion dollars went was Sihanoukville. Fifty plus casinos have been added along with dozens of hotels. Tons of Chinese have followed, which push up prices so the average Cambodian can no longer afford it. Also, a large number of gangs, and a big increase in crime.

It was a Chinese owned building that collapsed, and it was called an ‘illegal’ building in some news articles – adding extra floors, no construction permit, stop work notices ignored.  The land footprint couldn’t grow, so to make more money, they add extra floors.

It will be interesting to see if there will be any consequences to those responsible.  Of course other than a few dollars worth of fines for each person killed.  There is already a very strong anti-China sentiment here.

How China changed Sihanoukville
The Chinese loan model, often characterised by opaque contracts, exorbitant interest rates, predatory loan practices, and corrupt deals, has left smaller countries further debt ridden and in danger of losing their sovereignty.