In this Jan. 7, 2015 photo, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen talks with top leaders of his party before an event by the ruling Cambodian People's Party marking the 36th anniversary of the 1979 downfall of the Khmer Rouge regime at their party headquarters in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Construction of a massive dam in southwestern Cambodia will not start until at least 2018, Prime Minister Hun Sen said Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015 in an apparent effort to stop heavy opposition to the project which has focused criticism on him. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Cambodia PM says work on mega-dam will not start until 2018

AP / Yahoo News | 24 February 2015

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Construction of a massive dam in southwestern Cambodia will not start until at least 2018, Prime Minister Hun Sen said Tuesday, in an apparent effort to stop heavy opposition to the project which has focused criticism on him.

Hun Sen's comments came a day after Spanish activist Alex Gonzalez-Davidson, who had campaigned against the dam, was deported for overstaying his visa.

"From now until 2018, there will be no permission to build (the dam)," said Hun Sen, whose mandate as prime minister ends in 2018. "Now I beg you to stop talking about it."

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