China and Cambodia’s $1.2 billion canal project raises environmental concerns

Critics have raised concerns that the canal could severely disrupt the Mekong River’s natural flood patterns.

Cambodia and China have signed a $1.2 billion deal to finance an ambitious canal project that aims to boost trade efficiency by linking a branch of the Mekong River near Phnom Penh to a port on the Gulf of Thailand, the Cambodian government agency heading the project announced Friday.