Electric Cars Motoring to Angkor Wat

Cambodia Daily, 10^th Nov. 99

  A South Korean investment company is investing 10 million to provide eight-seat electric cars to serve tourists visiting the Angkor temples in Siem Reap.

ABC International Cambodia Co Ltd is planning to deliver 300 electric cars, which run on batteries and don’t make noise or smoke, in time for the millennium festival at the end of this year, Hwa Jin Lee, project manager said Monday.

Cambodian officials are expecting 30,000 tourists to visit the Angkor temples daily during the three-day celebration that will include fireworks and traditional dance performances.

“There are a lot of tourists visiting Angkor so we thought this would be a good investment.” Lee said.

The joint project with Apsara Authority, the government agency that oversees the temple area, is being hailed by tourism officials as a way to promote Siem Reap as a tranquil, smoke-free area. Government officials say private car and motorbikes will be banned from Angkor temple area starting next month.

“We don’t want Siem Reap to have noise or smoke from vehicle,” So Mara, director general of the Ministry of Tourism.

Apsara Authority plans to hire 500 local women in traditional Cambodian dress to become drivers of the electric cars, So Mara said. Women drivers attract more tourists and it also gives women an opportunity to have decent jobs, he said.

ABC will build a station in the Angkor temple area where electric cars will be able to quickly recharge batteries when they run low. Fees for the service haven’t been set.

So Mara said the electric cars, which are being manufactured by a US company, won’t affect local drivers or motodops who operate in Siem Reap town.

“They can still continue their jobs as normal, but they have to follow the rules of Apsara Authority, which will limit the travel area for Taxis or motos.” He said. “They can drive tourists outside the banned area.”

Taxi drivers and motodops in Siem Reap recently protested against the electric car project, saying it will cause them to lose their jobs. They stood in front of Angkor Wat and told colleagues to join them in the protest.

Tep Vatho, Siem Reap bureau chief of Apsara Authority, said she wrote a letter to the main office in Phnom Penh to report the demonstration.

Keo Saravuth, an Angkor conservation official, agreed with the taxi drivers and motodops, saying the electric car project could affect their livelihoods.

He also said it would be difficult for officials to rid Siem Reap of smoke and noise, because most of the residents need motos to get around.

Minister of Tourism Veng Sereyvuth, however, said the electric car project will persuade more tourists to come visit the Angkor temples.

“It’s a great idea,” he said. “I think it will work perfectly.”

The electric car project is one of the latest effort by officials to revamp the Angkor temple area to promote tourism.

In August, the Apsara Authority announced it was banning beggars and vendors from the most popular temples at Angkor (Additional: I was there two weeks ago, and the beggars are still there) to prepare for the millennium celebration, which will mark the beginning of the “Years of Peaceful Tourism.”

 

Taxi Drivers may Protest Electric Cars

Cambodia Daily, 17^th Nov. 99

  Government officials on Tuesday denied reports that a group of taxi drivers has formally complained and threatened to demonstrate against a plan to take tourists around the Angkor temples in electric cars.

Senate President Chea Sim, to whom the letter was reportedly addressed, has not seen it, according to an aide. “As soon as that letter reaches our office, we will forward it to the complaint commission, “said Om Sarith, an adviser to Chea Sim.

Suy San, second deputy governor of Siem Reap province, said he had not seen any demonstrations in Siem Reap town against the plan. “I only heard the rumor [of a protest] being spread from one to another, but the situation now days is still calm, “he said.

ABC International Cambodia Co Ltd, in a joint venture with the government’s Apsara Authority, plans to put into operation 300 electric cars at the temples, a move authorities say would help preserve the environment. The cars are to be in place before a three-day millennium celebration that officials expect to attract some 30,000 tourists.

Apsara Authorities officials said previously that taxis, including motorcycle taxis, would be banned near the temples.

Suy San said he knew people were concerned the electric cars could hurt their business. “I guess the higher level [authorities] initially ought to come down to conduct the survey on people’s reactions before signing a contract,” he said. “We are afraid that people might think that we do not respect their rights.” He said Apsara Authorities didn’t consult with local officials on the plan.

An Apsara Authorities official Tuesday said she knew nothing about a demonstration, nor had she see any letter of complaint. “I cannot rely on rumor,“ said Tep Vatho, bureau chief of Apsara Authority in Siem Reap.

While the electric cars potentially could put taxi drivers out of business, Apsara Authority has said it plans to hire about 500 local women in traditional dress to drive the electric cars.

 

Tourism Official Blast Electric Car Plan

Cambodia Daily, 19^th Nov. 1999

  The head of a national tourism organization has blasted the government’s plans to partially replace Siem Reap’s motorbike and taxi service with 300 electric cars.

Moeung Sonn, president of the National Syndicate of Tourism Enterprises, said the imported cars will take away jobs from the approximately 800 motodops and taxi drivers in Siem Reap.

He warned of violent protests by taxi drivers if their market is flooded with the cars, which are being promoted by the government as a cleaner, less noisy form of transportation for tourists at Angkor Wat.

“Taxi and moto drivers may demonstrate and destroy the electric cars when they arrive,” Moeung Sonn said, adding that the drivers could wind up making as little as a tenth of their normal daily wages if they have to compete with the cars.

A South Korean company is investing $10 million to provide the eight-seat cars to serve the 30,000 tourists expected to visit the Angkor Wat temples for a millennium celebration at the end of this year.

Though motodops and taxis can continue to operate in Siem Reap, they will be banned from the temple area starting next month, according to government officials.

Both Moeung Sonn and a group of taxi drivers in Siem Reap claim they have lodged complaints with the government about the use of the cars, which will operated by a group of 500 woman hired specifically for that purpose.

Moeung Sonn said he expects to meet with Prime Minister Hun Sen later this month to discuss the issue, and Siem Reap parliamentarian Seing Nam acknowledged receiving earlier this week a petition protesting the plan that was thumb printed by some 2,000 motodops and taxi drivers.

Ith Vhantha, deputy director of marketing and promotion for the Ministry of Tourism, said Thursday he agreed with the motodops and taxi drivers that the cars could cut into their business. But he also said the government’s plan was still the best way to better market the Angkor Wat temples.

However, other tour operators said they are angry that only one company will have rights to run the electric cars at the temples, according to Sathol Miyura, managing director for Apex Cambodia Travel Service Co Ltd and president of the Cambodian Association Travel Agency.

Sathol Miyura also said motodops and taxi drivers may create trouble for the car operators and instead suggested rejecting entirely the use of motorized vehicles inside the temple complex.

“The best idea for eco-tourism in the historical temples…is to promote the horse-drawn and cow-drawn carts or elephants so villagers would be able to find jobs,” Sathol Miyura said.

 

Additional

  The main problems by introducing electric cars are already mentioned in the two articles. The idea of electric cars is good, if the concept is right. There are further questions such as the availability of electricity. Siem Reap has no great infrastructure of electricity, which is produced by generators. Every hotel or restaurant has their own generator for producing electricity. To run 300 electric cars, the South Korean company has to provide the generators and a infrastructure to charge the batteries. The next question is what happen to the old batteries? In Cambodia we have still a different view of recycling, which means “digging a 10 meter deep hole”.

The roads around the temple complex are still in a bad shape. How can an electric car reach the Banteay Srei temple or the temples of the Roluos Group? Even the road of the Grand Circuit is in a bad condition.

Cambodia is already an expensive destination. I heard that the cost of one day and seat in one of the electric cars will be US$ 6. A three-day temple ticket costs US$ 40. Three day electric car US$ 18. Then you still need a car, minibus or coaster to transfer guests to the checkpoint, where they have to change the car.

Personally I think that the target to introduce the electric cars by next month will be not possible. There is no construction going on to hold the cars or charge the batteries. Probably the government wants to see the reaction of the people and later make a final decision.

 

Bangkok Airways’ Siem Reap Flights Delayed

Cambodia Daily, 17^th Nov. 99

  Bangkok Airways has delayed direct flights between Siem Reap and two cities in Thailand due to lack of aircraft, an airline official said Monday. The airline wasn’t able to start proposed one-way flights from the ancient Thai city of Sukhothai to Siem Reap, and from Siem Reap to Phuket as planned on Oct. 31, said Amornrat Konsawat, the airline’s Phnom Penh office manager. ‘It has been postponed because we don’t have enough aircrafts, ‘she said. “We have ordered new aircraft for the route but the company could not make it on time.” She did say, though, the airline will start on 7^th Dec. one-way service from Siem Reap to Phuket three times a week. The other half route, from Sukhothai to Siem Reap, will be added in March when the new aircraft is expected to be ready, she added.