THE Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) has confirmed it will leave its

"cramped" headquarters in Phnom Penh and move to a location outside the capital.

However, the move has been held up by financial problems at the new site, while

uncertainty lingers over the fate of the present Norodom Boulevard

site.

The new military HQ is being built in Kambol, Ang Snuol district,

and is close to completion. However, RCAF's commander-in-chief, General Ke Kim

Yan, said that the $1 million spent by the government on construction had proved

insufficient, forcing the Chinese construction company involved in building the

new premises to stop work on the site in September.

General Kim Yan said

the current HQ was too cramped for the hundreds who worked there, and said Prime

Minister Hun Sen wanted a hospital built there.

Dr Eng Huot,

director-general for health promotion, said the Ministry of Health would take

over RCAF's present HQ. It had proposed Japan spend $40 million to build a

clinic.

"The Japanese government has not responded to our proposal,

which we made in 1998," he said. "If it is not granted, then we will use the

compound for a different purpose."