Japanese Ambassador Masaki Saito announced on Mar 12 the completion of Phase II of

the Water Supply Improvement Project for Phnom Penh. As a result of the project,

water supply networks in both the January 7 and Toul Kork districts have been rehabilitated

"enabling a larger supply of purified water to a greater number of citizens

of Phnom Penh and also helping to prevent water borne disease," Saito said at

the project completion ceremony.

Saito said that access to running water would eliminate the need for women and children

to fetch drums of water, and thereby improve the daily lives of the district's inhabitants.