M ALAYSIAN firm Ariston is reported to have signed memorandums of understandings
with two sub-contractors for development projects in Sihanoukville.
The
move is the first step in Ariston's contract with the Cambodian government to
develop tourism infrastructure in the southern province. According to Malaysian
newspaper reports, Ariston signed memorandums of understanding on May 19 with
Malaysian companies Faber Group and Tenega Nasional.
The first would see
Faber Group and an Ariston subsidiary, Buildview Golf and Country Resort, form a
50/50 joint venture to build a 350-room hotel in Sihanoukville.
The
second involves Tenega constructing and managing a power station in the
province.
Ariston chief executive Dr Chen Lip Keong said the four-storey
hotel, costing about $50 million, would be completed within three
years.
On hand to witness the signing ceremony in Kuala Lumpur was
Cambodian Minister of Tourism Veng Sereyvuth. He later declined to comment on
the issue to the Post, saying: "I am a minister in charge of tourism. I am not a
minister in charge of giving information to journalists."
The Ariston
contract - which the government has refused to give copies of to members of the
National Assembly - is valued at $1.3 billion.
