Hun Sen Boulevard

A whole lot of attention was placed on the filling in of Boueng Kak lake in central Phnom Penh in recent years. Much of this was well-deserved, as it involved the eviction and displacement of thousands of local residents. I've written about this in previous posts, it was a public park in the early 90s but gradually became filled in with slums. One reason I think it got so much attention was because it had a backpacker area within it, so was noticed more. The view from the verandas facing the lake was pleasant, especially in the evenings as it was one of the only places to see the sunset in the city, in most other areas this was obscured by buildings.
However, a project that dwarfs that one in comparison has been ongoing for the last few years, and has received little attention in the media. The Boueng Tumpun wetland/lake is about 10 times larger than Boueng Kak was, but as it lies south of the city dyke at 271 not many have noticed. Again, I've previously posted on this area. Boueng Kak was around 120 hectares, but Boueng Tumpun is about 1000. It is also far more important in that the main drainage from the city flows south to this wetland. It has been farmed for morning glory and other plants for as long as anyone can remember, and supported a large community of subsistence agriculture.
The filling in of the verges of the area began long ago, but was halted. Around 2009 it became a major project, and although the municipality claimed it was only going to build a road across it, to join Monivong Boulevard with Highway 2 in Ta Khmao, this initial idea has been expanded.
The plan now is for a 60 meter wide boulevard with a central division, and a park somewhere in the middle. It will be 9 kilometers long when completed, as a guess I'd say 4 km has been graveled but not tarmacked yet, further than that is still just sand fill. Retaining walls have been built at various points along the length, so obviously there are plans for development along its length.
The official statements when filling in began stated that the plan was not to fill in the major part of the wetland/lake, as it serves as a natural filter for much of the runoff water/sewage that flows south from the center city. This water then flows further south and eventually into the Bassac River.It appears that this idea has been revised though and a number of cross roads will be built across the wetland, and it is also apparent that the western part has also had a considerable amount of filling in.
Until not long ago, it wasn't obvious how large these plans were, I've been around the reclaimed area for a few years, but was amazed on a recent visit how much progress has been made. Some of the roads may relieve congestion on other over-used routes to the city, but there are big plans for an expansion south, as can be seen from the pictures.

Boueng Japun

This place is almost unknown to many of the foreign residents who spend much of their time in the central districts, yet is bigger than a few of those districts put together. It stretches south from the dike at Street 271 for a long, long way, there’s little solid till you hit Takmao City. In recent reports about its development a figure of over 3000 hectares has been thrown about, and I don’t doubt it. The part that has been filled in so far is miniscule in comparison, perhaps 10 hectares or less. It’s the natural direction for the city to expand in anyway, and so long as provisions are made for drainage things could go well. The eminent architect Van Molyvann has argued that this is the direction the city should move in for many years. This has to be partly because of water resources, which become extremely scarce as on moves west of the city, and are almost non-existent when one reaches Kampong Speu province.

Boueng means lake in the Khmer language, but most of the area only appears to be a lake at the wettest times of the year. There is a permanently flooded part, but the rest is either swampy, or firmly above water for much of the year. Otherwise, every inch of it is divided into lots, which are used to grow various crops, water-hyacinths, morning-glory and other plants that are sold as pig-feed. These are plants which are also sold for human consumption, but not the ones from here. The reason for this is that the water is considered dirty, as the lake is fed by the some of the many polluted canals that flow south from the center city. Street 271 is the city’s southern dike, as well as being a ring-road, so much of the excess water that floods the city at times ends up being pumped over this barrier. Boueng Trabek Pumping Station is most easily noticed, it’s not far from where street 271 starts near the Monivong Bridge and the bottom of Monivong Boulevard.

On the city side of the dike is Boueng Trabek, it and the wide canals that stretch from it are particularly foul, with grey water and garbage floating on top. I’m not at all clear about what the pumping station does, but it certainly seems to filter out a lot of the floating detritus. It also seems to treat the water in some way, as it doesn’t smell so bad once it gets pushed over the dike, and it has a lot of foam which would seem to indicate the use of chemicals or detergents.

Besides the dirty water flowing into it, there is a fair amount of garbage strewn around the edges. Some of this comes from the local residents who throw a lot of trash straight out their windows, and the rest just blows down from the main road. What is quite surprising is that the lake seems to be quite clean once you get away from the perimeter. By the time you get a hundred meters from the road it’s difficult to notice any real pollution, it’s just the usual vast expanse of open ground you see in the central part of the country, extending as far as the eye can see. Eventually the water gets across this expanse, and flows into the Tonle Bassac River and onwards into the Mekong Delta and then out into the South China Sea.

What I find most interesting about this particular place is how much of a divide that exists there. Street 271 has many businesses along it, from small workshops to corporate headquarters, either way it’s a busy place and very much part of the city. Within a few meters one starts to find a very different place, where impoverished peasants try to eke out a living growing weeds. Paddling along minuscule canals in tiny boats, they exist in a completely different universe than most of the fat city’s inhabitants, just doing what they have been doing for hundreds of years.

Little is known publicly about the planned development here, and the nearby residents have not been informed about what is happening, although many are quite aware that they will probably soon have to leave, with little if any compensation.

The wetlands support a major amount of wildlife, from Egrets to Bee-Eaters and Barbets, but is hardly unique in this, similar areas exist all over the country. The main problem really is drainage, and this particular basin serves half or more of the capital, so unless proper channels are built the end results could be disastrous for the southern part of the city. The houses on the perimeter of the lake are stilted, but at the height of the monsoon the lower floors sometimes flood. It remains to be seen how much difference the newly filled-in part will make, but with less drainage it seems inevitable that it will result in higher water and more flooding than we have previously seen in the area. 

As an update (October 2011) it has been announced that the eastern part of the wetland which is being reclaimed is for a boulevard which will stretch between the southern end of Monivong Boulevard for seven kilometers to Takhmau. It will apparently be 60 meters wide. It has also been announced that the rest of the wetland will be preserved.   


The first picture was taken by Serge Corrieras in 1991, the following is what may be the same place in 2010, with a new pumping station built.
One stitched together image shows the sand filling in the east part of lake.
The picture of the woman who has been harvesting plants in the boat is from 2006, you can there isn't any sand in the background.
The yellow part on the map shows approximately how much of the wetland has been filled so far.