Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen (C) chairs the Council of Ministers meeting in Phnom Penh Oct. 21, 2015. The Council of Ministers of Cambodia on Wednesday approved 4.3 billion U.S. dollars for the government's expenditures next year, up 16.1 percent year on year, a government official said. (Xinhua/Sovannara)
PHNOM PENH, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Council of Ministers of Cambodia on Wednesday approved 4.3 billion U.S. dollars for the government's expenditures next year, up 16.1 percent year-on-year, a government official said.
Phay Siphan, Spokesman for the Council of Ministers, wrote on his Facebook page that the approval of the draft budget bill for 2016 was made during the cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Hun Sen.
According to the draft bill, which needs to be passed by the National Assembly before year's end, the 2016's government spending is equal to 21.31 percent of the GDP.
"The budget for 2016 is very important to ensure the average growth of 7 percent per annum, to accelerate poverty reduction, and to further enhance Cambodian people's livelihoods," said the draft law.
The budget will be mainly focused on infrastructure investment, human resources development, economic development, national defense and health.
The country will allocate 1.43 billion U.S. dollars of the budget for investing in public projects such as roads, bridges, railroads, ports, irrigation system, and other economy-driven projects, said the draft bill.
It said the ministry of education will get 500 million U.S. dollars, up 28 percent year-on-year and the ministry of defense will get 383 million U.S. dollars, up 17 percent year-on-year.
The ministry of health will receive 274 million U.S. dollars, up 8.6 percent, it said.
