The Foreign Affairs Ministry yesterday said Japan will provide more than $43 million to fund two development projects in the Kingdom.

A ministry press release said Foreign Affairs Minister Prak Sokhonn and Japan’s Ambassador Hidehisa Horinouchi will today sign the Exchange of Notes on the extension of the Japanese government’s support for the two projects.

It said that Japan will provide a loan of about $31.56 million for the implementation of the West Tonle Sap Irrigation and Drainage Rehabilitation and Improvement Project 2.

The statement added that Japan will also provide about $11.8 million in grant aid for the implementation of the Development of Port Electric Data Interchange System for Port Modernisation project.

“This loan and grant aid package have been extended by the government of Japan to the government of Cambodia with a view to further promote the economic and social development of the Kingdom of Cambodia,” the statement said.

In April, Japan officially signed an agreement to provide Cambodia with grants and loans totalling more than $90 million. The funding is for the Phnom Penh City Transmission and Distribution System Expansion project.

Japan also provided grant aid of about $4.6 million to implement other economic and social development programmes.

Recently, Japan provided $529,068 to Shanti Volunteer Association to establish a library at a pre-school in Battambang province.

SVA aims to improve the quality of early childhood education through the establishment of a model preschool equipped with a library. It also aims to train preschool teachers and librarians in Battambang city.

The preschool library will accommodate about 450 children and 1,000 others in the province will be able to access its preschool education programmes.

The Japanese government’s grant assistance programme for Japanese NGO projects in Cambodia began in 2002 to support activities that help the Kingdom’s reconstruction and development efforts at the grassroots level.