The royal family plans to dedicate a garden in front of the Royal Palace in honour of the late King Father Norodom Sihanouk, a former aide of Sihanouk said yesterday.

Prince Sisowath Thomico, the onetime personal secretary of Sihanouk, told the Post yesterday that the green space will be called Samdech Preah Norodom Sihanouk Garden and that it may include a statue of the former king.

If the plans go through, the statue would be the second in Phnom Penh, as the government announced this week that it would build a seven-metre-tall copper likeness of Sihanouk just east of the Independence Monument.

“[We] have planned already to build the garden for King Father Norodom Sihanouk.

The plan of the Royal Palace differs from the plan of the Royal Government,” Thomico said.

The palace is responsible for all spending on construction of the garden, he added, though he did not say when it would be finished.

To contact the reporter on this story: Meas Sokchea at [email protected]