Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade has approved the construction of a model market at the border area between Cambodia’s Tbaung Khmum province and Vietnam’s southern Tay Ninh province.

Vice Chairman of Tay Ninh People’s Committee Nguyen Manh Hung said on July 16 that the project is part of the agreement signed at the 13th meeting of the mixed committee on economic, cultural, scientific and technological cooperation between the Vietnamese and Cambodian governments on February 11, 2014.

The total cost for the project is estimated at 44.8 billion VND (2.05 million USD), to be funded by the Vietnamese government’s non-refundable grant.

The construction is scheduled to begin in November and will be completed at the end of 2017.

The market will cover 20,000 square metres in the Special Economic Zone Thary Tbaung Khmum located in the Da Kandorl village, Da commune, Memot district in Tbau Khmum province and opposite the Chang Riec border gate in Tan Lap commune, Tan Bien district, Tay Ninh province.

The project aims to tap the potential and advantages of the two border provinces, increase trade activities, build distribution networks, assist in transforming economic structures and improve the living standards of citizens living in border areas.-VNA