Thailand’s Neda Halts New Aid Projects in Cambodia Following Border Clashes
Major infrastructure loan and new initiatives suspended amid heightened tensions along Thailand–Cambodia frontier.
The Neighbouring Countries Economic Development Cooperation Agency (Neda), operating under Thailand’s Finance Ministry, has suspended all new aid-funded projects in Cambodia in the wake of intense border skirmishes that occurred in late July.
While no projects are currently under construction, one approved infrastructure initiative has been postponed.
This delayed investment concerned the upgrade of National Road R67, a 134-kilometre route linking Si Sa Ket in Thailand to Siem Reap via Anlong Veng and Choam/Sa Ngam in Cambodia.
The project, valued at nine hundred eighty-three million baht, was in the contractor selection stage prior to being paused.
The agreement included a low-interest loan—structured with a one-point-five-percent rate over twenty-five years and a seven-year grace period—and required engagement of Thai contractors and procurement conditions that mandated at least half of the contract value be allocated to Thai goods and services.
Another proposed project, Road R68 connecting Surin with Siem Reap, had already undergone a feasibility study but will not move forward at this time.
A senior Neda official indicated that even if new projects were approved, prevailing sentiment and risks would deter Thai contractors from entering Cambodia.
Over the past two years, Neda’s financial aid to Cambodia has focused on three to four ongoing projects, while aid to neighbouring countries such as Laos and Myanmar remains constrained—Laos by high sovereign debt levels and Myanmar by unresolved political instability and pending ASEAN-local legitimacy through elections.
Historically, following the 2011 border dispute over the Preah Vihear Temple, Neda suspended aid programmes for approximately five to six years.
To date, Neda has disbursed approximately two point nine two billion baht in soft loans to Cambodia, representing about twelve percent of its total aid to neighbouring countries.
While no projects are currently under construction, one approved infrastructure initiative has been postponed.
This delayed investment concerned the upgrade of National Road R67, a 134-kilometre route linking Si Sa Ket in Thailand to Siem Reap via Anlong Veng and Choam/Sa Ngam in Cambodia.
The project, valued at nine hundred eighty-three million baht, was in the contractor selection stage prior to being paused.
The agreement included a low-interest loan—structured with a one-point-five-percent rate over twenty-five years and a seven-year grace period—and required engagement of Thai contractors and procurement conditions that mandated at least half of the contract value be allocated to Thai goods and services.
Another proposed project, Road R68 connecting Surin with Siem Reap, had already undergone a feasibility study but will not move forward at this time.
A senior Neda official indicated that even if new projects were approved, prevailing sentiment and risks would deter Thai contractors from entering Cambodia.
Over the past two years, Neda’s financial aid to Cambodia has focused on three to four ongoing projects, while aid to neighbouring countries such as Laos and Myanmar remains constrained—Laos by high sovereign debt levels and Myanmar by unresolved political instability and pending ASEAN-local legitimacy through elections.
Historically, following the 2011 border dispute over the Preah Vihear Temple, Neda suspended aid programmes for approximately five to six years.
To date, Neda has disbursed approximately two point nine two billion baht in soft loans to Cambodia, representing about twelve percent of its total aid to neighbouring countries.
