The decision was made during a meeting of the Council of Ministers, chaired by Prime Minister Hun Sen.

The project will be a 180km channel running from the Bassac River to Kep province, passing through the centres of Kandal, Takeo, and Kampot.

Phay Siphan, the government’s chief spokesperson, said on his Facebook page that it would be “the first time in the history of Cambodia’s waterway transport sector that there is a linkage between the Mekong River system and a sea route”.

He added that some 1.6 million people live along the waterway.

The work is expected to cost about $1.7bn and take four years to be completed.