Cambodia’s Minister of Tourism Thong Khon declared construction work on the country’s sparkling new National Stadium completed earlier this week, concluding a China-funded project that took over four years to complete.
The first images of the completed 60,000-seater venue, which is located on the northern outskirts of the nation’s capital Phnom Penh, are arresting and display the key features of the stadium’s unique design.
The stadium is designed to resemble a ship with two “prow” structures located at either end and a “Khmer-style” moat around the stadium’s perimeter. Khon said the design was meant to symbolise the traditional friendship between Cambodia and China recognising that Chinese people used to travel by sailing ship to Cambodia.
A nod to China is appropriate given that the Chinese government provided the 1.1 billion yuan (US$169.3 million) cost of constructing the stadium, which was developed by the China State Construction Engineering Corporation.
The venue, officially named Morodok Techo National Stadium, is the centrepiece of Cambodia’s new national sports complex, which also features an indoor aquatics centre, a smaller arena and tennis courts, and is part of the country’s preparations for hosting the 2023 Southeast Asian Games.
The project is the latest example of China’s “stadium diplomacy” policy, which has so far seen the country fully- or part-fund, and often construct, 69 stadiums across the world.
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