Kandal (FN), Jun. 22 – Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday reacted to criticisms regarding the purchases of 290 military trucks, addressing at the construction site of a new airport in Kandal province on Monday.

“I reaffirm that purchasing the trucks is for the interests of the nation and people. We do not use even a single cent of the state budget; it is from the donors,” said Prime Minister Hun Sen.

The Premier stressed that the trucks cost USD 20 million of the donation’s budget. He also expressed his intention to purchase more military equipment to serve Cambodian people and the nation.

Premier Hun Sen said the trucks were purchased before the start of the Covid-19 outbreak and would not have been purchased during the virus crisis.

“We ordered since June 2019 and those trucks should have arrived Cambodia by mid-February 2020, but when Covid-19 erupted in China, the factory delayed delivery.”

250 among the 290 trucks were given to RCAF units and the other 40 went to the General Commissariat of the National Police, according to RCAF army spokesperson Brigadier General Mao Phalla.

He said the trucks will be used by the armed forces amid natural disasters or intervention due to Covid-19, not for private purposes.
=FRESH NEWS