Vietnam is planning to build a market in Cambodia’s Tbong Khmum province, aimed at strengthening trade between the neighbouring countries and improving living standards for those whose homes lie along the border, according to local media reports.

Viet Nam News reported yesterday that a committee had approved plans to build the market, which will be based in Tbong Khmum province’s Memot district, in an effort to boost trade in the area.

“The Ministry of Planning and Investment will cooperate with the Finance Ministry on dividing the capital for this plan,” the report says.

Prach Chan, Tbong Khmum provincial governor, said in an interview yesterday that he welcomed plans for a Vietnamese-built market in the area.

“When the market is created, the flow of commerce between the two countries will be better and better and this will give a greater living standard to the people living in the region,” he said.

But, he added, he was still awaiting “clear information from a national level” about the plan.