A four-meter bronze statue honouring the late King Father Norodom Sihanouk will be built in Dragon Park near Phnom Penh’s Independence Monument, Prime Minister Hun Sen said on Saturday.

The statue of Sihanouk, set to stand seven metres tall once mounted on a pedestal, had unanimous support as a memorial to Cambodia’s former king, who passed away, aged 89, on October 15, Hun Sen said.

“We will build a statue of our hero King Father somewhere between the Independence Monument and the other end of Dragon Park for foreign delegates and our people who want to pay their respects there,” he said.

Hun Sen did not give precise details on where the statue would be built in Dragon Park, also known as Neak Banh Teuk Park, on Sihanouk Boulevard, but he hoped it could be protected from extreme weather.

“I don’t want this statue to be left under the hot sun or heavy rain all the time. I want it to be covered. It would be the respectful thing to do. But this is up to the King and the Queen Mother,” he said.

Hun Sen said the cremation of the late King Father was planned for the first week of February because it was considered bad luck to hold it after Chinese New Year, which falls next year on February 10.

Nhek Bun Chhay, deputy chief of the national festival organising committee, said he hoped the statue would be built before then; however, he did not know how much it would cost.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mom Kunthear at [email protected]