US government officials and foreign affairs minister Hor Namhong held a ground-breaking

ceremony for the new US Embassy on October 9. It will be built next to Wat Phnom

on the site of a former youth club. Construction of the $50 million building is set

to start early next year and finish in 2006. "The new embassy will be a very

safe and secure facility for the Americans and Cambodians who work inside,"

said US Charge d'Affaires Alex Arvizu.