Comments by "Peter Jacobsen" (@pjacobsen1000) on "Cambodia launches China-funded airport in Siem Reap" video.

Now, that's a great project! Built under a 'build-operate-transfer' scheme means that the Chinese investors believe this is a viable project that they can profit from. At the same time, it won't cost Cambodia anything until they take it over after 50 years. Congratulations to Cambodia and to the Chinese investors. For us regular people, having this as a tourism gateway to Cambodia also gives us more travel options.
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@PlayfulPinoyGamer That may be true, but it doesn't take away from the fact that B-O-T projects are perfect for low-income countries.
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@piereandreturner2818 No, the area around the Panama Canal was controlled by other countries (Colombia, France, USA) than Panama even before the project was started. During construction, Panama was also not controlling the area. The money and construction for the canal was provided by France and USA, not as a loan to Panama, but simply as a transportation project. Panama eventually took control of the canal and the area around it in Jan. 2000.
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@PlayfulPinoyGamer But they are not borrowing any money for this project. That's what B-O-T is: Foreign investors pay for, and build the whole thing, they operate it without any cost to the host nation, in this case for 50 years, and then they hand it over to the local government for free. It shouldn't cost Cambodia a single dollar.
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@egg-h4b " I don't have to give any evidence to anyone". Faith-based argument, then.
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@egg-h4b Ok, you've now left the topic and started insulting me personally. I understand that's a common reaction, but it takes us away from the topic. Like you, I have few details about this project, so we can only discuss B-O-T projects in general. At the very least, the idea of a B-O-T project is what I have written previously, and while this one may be different, it doesn't negate the benefits of a B-O-T project for the recipient country, compared to 'predatory loans', as some might term them. This type of project seems much more safe for Cambodia.
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@ManojKumar-z5l7b That's what the video says. BOT projects are great for low income, but high growth countries, because they lack the funds now, but need the infrastructure now.
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@SirotanParkHanedaGarden " the new airport not only puts Cambodia in a ton of debt to China". How can it put Cambodia in debt when Cambodia didn't borrow any money to build it and Cambodia is not paying for it? Foreign investors are. It's a B.O.T. project, Build, Operate, Transfer. That means some investors build it and manage it, they also take all the profits if there are any, and after some time, they hand it over, free of charge. In this case, after 50 years.
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@SirotanParkHanedaGarden Presumably they have to pay taxes off their corporate earnings, but after that it is no different from another foreign investor building a shoe factory and taking the profits. It's a business investment. According to the deal, the airport will be handed over to Cambodia after 50 years, thus the 'transfer' in Build-Operate-Transfer.
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@RoseRose-gk6ku Whether the airport becomes successful or not is beside the point. It's a foreign invested project, no different from a foreign invested T-shirt factory. The only people who should care about its success are the investors who stand to profit (or lose). If it also becomes useful for travelers is just a bonus.
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@egg-h4b It's an investment. Why would the local government be obliged to bail out a failed investment? Do they do that for other foreign investors?
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@egg-h4b And what do we know about this particular BOT contract?
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@the_thinking_lady But if neither you nor I know those details, why even debate them? We'll be debating based only on speculation.
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