Cambodia looks to 'breathe' with controversial new canal

PHNOM PENH:Dust covers everything in Lim Tong Eng's yard, thrown up by excavators toiling next door to enlarge a channel that Cambodia's government hopes will soon be a major shipping canal.

Next month, Cambodia will officially break ground on the Funan Techo canal, a US$1.7 billion project running from the Mekong river to a Cambodian port on the Gulf of Thailand that will offer an alternative to transit via Vietnam.