The Deputy Governor of Kampong Thom province, Huon Manit, has praised a Vietnamese-invested rubber company for its contribution to the Cambodian locality’s socio-economic development.

At a ceremony to mark the fifth founding anniversary of the Phuoc Hoa- Kampong Thom Rubber Development Company in Kampong Thom’s Santuk district on February 20, the Cambodian official said the firm has employed 1,300 local workers, offering them a monthly average income of 140 USD per person.
It has also promoted technological transfer to local people, he added.

The 55 million USD Phuoc Hoa-Kampong Thom Rubber Development Company, an affiliate of the Phuoc Hoa Rubber Joint Stock Company, was licensed to grow 9,000ha of rubber trees in the district.

According to Director Dang Don Cu, after five years, the Phuoc Hoa-Kampong Thom company planted nearly 7,600 ha rubber trees. The rest will be completed in 2014.

The company expects to exploit the first 500ha in 2015.

This year, the company also plans to build a latex processing plant with a capacity of 10,000 tonnes per year, expecting to increase the number of local workers to 2,500-3,000 and their monthly average income to 200-250 USD/person.-VNA