Phnom Penh City Hall has confirmed that renovations of the park in front of Wat Botum are scheduled to finish before the Water Festival in November this year.

In a meeting on Monday, Phnom Penh governor Pa Socheatvong focused on two main objectives – installing an additional 600 CCTV cameras in Phnom Penh within the next six months; and maintaining and renovating parks and streetlights. Over 69 hectares of parks and 60,000 trees will be transferred to be under the care of private companies.

“After a visit to the construction site [in front of Wat Botum], we decided to build more and better public lavatories. Additionally, certain areas in the park will also be renovated,” Socheatvong wrote on his official Facebook page on Tuesday morning.

Known to be a popular jogging route and general exercising spot for locals and tourists alike, the park is located on the eastern side of Wat Botum, south of the Royal Palace. It is one of the 68 parks in Phnom Penh earmarked for renovations as part of City Hall’s efforts to construct more tourist attractions, according to City Hall spokesman, Chen Bunthoern.

City Hall will soon turn its attention to renovating certain areas around Wat Phnom.