Prime Minister Hun Sen has instructed Phnom Penh Capital Hall and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport to look into the building of a dormitory for female and foreign students staying in the capital for study.

The premier suggested looking into suitable locations and whether there was space on the site of the Morodok Techo National Stadium for such a building.

Hun Sen was speaking to more than 1,000 grade-A students in the 2021-2022 academic year, which was held at the Koh Pich Convention and Exhibition Centre on February 2.

He said he would like the relevant institutions to assist in determining a suitable location for the building of a dormitory, such as by surveying land near the Institute of Technology of Cambodia (ITC).

“I want 200 to 300 more beds for students who come to Phnom Penh for study because the problem now is a lack of female accommodation.

“While male students can go to stay at pagodas, this not an option for female students,” Hun Sen said.

In response, Minister of Education Hang Chuon Naron informed the prime minister at the occasion that there were currently two options for a dormitory to be built, one at the new campus of the Royal University of Phnom Penh and the other at the ITC.

The ITC began construction this year on a new building on a 10-hectare site on Ly Yong Phat Street in the north of the capital, while another option was on the grounds of the Morodok Techo National Stadium.

After receiving the Minister of Education’s response, Hun Sen ordered Phnom Penh Capital Hall and the Ministry of Education to look at the Morodok Techo National Stadium for a site for the dormitory.

Ministry of Education spokesman Ros Soveacha said the ministry offered free accommodation at its dormitory for female students located near the ITC.

The centre has seven buildings housing 745 students, 598 of them young female students. Among the students staying there are scholarship students from China, Laos and Vietnam.