Battambang City is an old cultural and historical city and is the second large city after Phnom Penh as the capital of economic and political and diplomatic tie of the Kingdom of Cambodia. This city is of Sangke River, flowing across in the middle of city, which accompanies with ancient constructions, pagodas, French colonial architecture buildings, which make this city has more and more attractive to national and internationals tourists coming to visit from year to year. Major Infrastructures have been well organized, telecommunication networks linking Battambang city to surrounding provinces and to significant border checkpoints, in particular, departure from the capital city of Phnom Penh to the northwest of the country along the national road 5 which crosses in the middle of Battambang city, which is the artery of economic, commerce in the region. Battambang city will become the second economic city in promoting, enhancing foundation of national economic in the future.
Battambang city is a city which has good atmosphere for living, working, visiting, and is a foundation for providing tourists with stay, eat, and other supplying services that are the major and variety events providing the warm, security, safety, quality and good sanitation, promoting economic growth, social prosperity, and cultural sustainability.
In accordance with a vision 2030, Battambang city will become good governance and management cities, a green city, good welfare, business and service centers, regional agricultural and commercial centers, Knowledge educational center, cultural heritage and tourism cities. Battambang city is a winning candidate a ward of Three Romdul Flower in competition of the 1th 2015- 2016 clean city and used to get a ward on Asean environmental sustainability city in Vientiane, Lao in 2014.
Battambang city is a city, consisting of potentiality in physical infrastructures such as national roads, provincial roads, municipal roads, railway, waterway, bridges, clean water supply systems and electricity, which are a driving force to promoting living standard and reducing poverty of people in accordance with third mandate rectangular strategy of the Royal Government of Cambodia under the sound leadership of Samdach Akak Moha Sena Padai Techo HUN SEN, prime minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia with participation from relevant institutions, departments and development partners, especially Battambang administration led by His Excellency Chan Sophal, governor of Battambang province, who strongly supported this task. Moreover, Battambang municipality has paid attention on city renovation at major roads to be more attractive, for instance, Battambang municipality renovated Sangke riverside by filling concrete to protect the riverside, creating twin road along national road 5 from the border point of Sangke district to Black stick grandparent statue and from Nerng Romsaysok Cycle Statue to Chrey market, renovating garden along Sangke River, Soun chbar Neak Banh teork, Soun Chbar Prek Moha Tep and paid special attention on conserving old buildings in the city. On the top of this, municipal administration tried to promote construction of roads to the main tourism destinations in order to make good condition for traveling of tourists and for the sake of serving in tourism sector.
Enhancing development and conservation, Battambang municipality reached master plan for land usage adapted by a committee for land management and national urbanization management in plenty session on 19 November 2014 and officially adapted on 9 February 2015. In the preparation of management and conservation of the city, Battambang municipal adminstration divided and defined the main areas such as development areas, conservative areas, and green areas. In conservative areas which are of Khmer- French architecture buildings, over 1000 artifacts in the geography of Battambang city. In the future direction, in order to prepare these conservative areas, Battambang municipality also requested conservative areas to be inscribed as the world heritage site of UNESCO in the aim at making Battambang city to cultural and natural tourism destination after other tourism destinations in Cambodia. To achieve above mentioned goal, Battambang municipality participated in the promotion of local economic development which is of: agriculture, industry, tourism, transferring Battambang city to commercial, service, business, employment, educational, entertainment centers in the region. Significant fitness such as state hospitals, private hospitals, state health centers, private clinics serving for consultation and treatment disease, state and private educational institutions, universities, high schools, secondary schools, primary schools, national bank, private banks, micro finance institutions, companies and enterprises which have been actively contributing in promoting socio – economic grown and fostering living standard of people. The preparation of public security, order and safety are also indispensable factors in order to keep security and traffic facilitation for drivers and general travellers by being equipped with 9 traffic lights, situated at the city. What more important than this is the 9 point security village, commune principles, which are also firmly implemented to keep security, safety for the residents, especially there are tourist polices, standing by at the tourism targets which make the national and international tourists coming to stay and visit in Battambang get the warm feeling.
Battambang municipality paid highly attention to management of environment and cleanness, green area management, public garden, children garden, exercising garden, public toilets, trashes, locations for storing litter, solid litter, preparation lights in the city, public lights toward to enhancing public welfares and places for people and the public coming to take rest. Improving litter and liquid litter management, municipality administration tried also to disseminate understandings about accuracy litter packages and placing to the people being as owners of business bases, hotels, guesthouses, restaurants, public and private institutions to take part in putting litter via public forums, mobile medias, disseminating meetings, instructions and other special events. Battambang municipality has also encouraged and strongly supported private institutions for making a program to pick up litter and doing sanitation and cleaning roads which are a model action contributing to the promotion a movement of Cambodia Clean up effectively. For solid waste management, Currently, Battambang city strengthened its waste collecting and transporting services throughout 10 Sangkats, which there are 2 companies, being operating to collect and transport and there is a location for storing litter, sizing on 08 hectares distancing about 5 km from the town. For liquid waste management, provincial public transportation department and Battambang municipality arranged drainage systems to alleviate bad water to processing basin, located at Comka Samrong Commune at the west of Sangke River, which has capacity in containing water of 25,000m3. In the short coming future, there will be another processing basin to be established, located at the east of Sangke River in the response to people demand and development under the project of ADB. On the other hand, drainage systems are arranged separately from bad alleviated drainage systems in the main areas in the city in order to alleviate the water in timely manner. Battambang municipality is a magnet in this area, which consists of potentialities in attracting tourists such as ancient houses, architecture buildings, provincial hall ( old provincial hall ), historical pagodas in LOK MAJAS Regime and French colonial era and beside of these, there are Sangke River, lakes, eco- tourism area, which are historical, natural, recycling tourism destinations which are the significant potentialities in serving tourism sector for national and international tourists coming to visit and research, which is growing from year to year. Infrastructures and fitness, serving tourism sector, has been progressed such as roads, gardens, hotels, guesthouses, restaurants, food stores, transportation and adult entertainment centers. Battambang Tourism Department, in association with municipal administration, relevant institutions, has prepared tourism development plan, created master plan for tourism development, improved and expanded tourism infrastructures, linked tourism sites in the province, created tourism information centers, created locations for selling products and souvenirs, enhanced the preparation tourism sites for tourists coming to rest and stay in the province with harmony and comfortable.
Every year, Battambang municipality created good environment for preparing major events such as water festival, Khmer National New Year day, food exhibitions, commercial exhibitions, bike riding event and other events. Tourism communities have been paid attention to include tourism activities into existing communities, which enhance the diversification of tourism products providing benefits to people in the communities, travelling on waterway, visiting fishing village with good views on along Sangke River providing new options for tourists. Battambang Municipal hall, in cooperation with Battambang Tourism Department and relevant institutions, tried to prepare and to renovate cultural and natural tourism destinations, to prepare recycling tourism site, tourism provided places, police posts, hotels, guesthouses, homestays, restaurants, food stores, tourist operator services, public markets, super markets, night markets, disco clubs for the national and international tourists to take rest and entertain at night.
Battambang city is of modernization, good environment, and clean aesthetic with kindly and friendly residents, which make this city, has prestige and well known to be proud. Enhancing quality of staffs, which are providing tourism services at tourism sites and tourism business bases, is getting prosperity from day to day throughout training courses in accordance with tourism standards. Mechanism for tourism advertisement “Cambodia Kingdom of Wonder, giving the warm” and competition movement “clean city, clean resort, and good service, good hospitality” is a vision in promoting tourism development throughout Battambang city. These actions have been done everywhere in Battambang city, raising awareness about the cleanness and enhancing quality of tourism services will keep high sanitation with responsible manner and will make the people and public all age and statue have more understanding, awareness and support that are the courses to make Battambang city to be of cleanness, good sanitation and social order.
We all for clean city and clean city for all !!!