Why is Cambodia free of charge for SEA Games delegations?

In October 2017, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen still did not believe in the plan to host the SEA Games. "The Cambodian government is trying to save money," Khmer Times quoted him as saying at the time. "If we want to organize the SEA Games, we have to spend millions of dollars to build venues and accommodation for athletes. We would rather use that budget to build roads and bridges."

Three months earlier, then-Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte also complained about the SEA Games funding problem, and said that the country should have spent money to rebuild Marawi city after the civil war. Mr. Duterte is not the one who brought the 2019 SEA Games to the Philippines, but his predecessor Benigno Aquino III.

According to the World Bank, Cambodia's GDP in 2021 using the PPP method is $79 billion. The cost of hosting the 32nd SEA Games for them is equivalent to 0.25% of GDP.

Vietnam has spent 51 million USD for the 31st SEA Games from the government budget, not including local expenditures. Vietnam's GDP in 2021 is 1.138 billion USD, which means that the host's cost of hosting the 31st SEA Games is only 0.0045% of GDP. This rate of Cambodia is 56 times higher than that of Vietnam. This is not too difficult to understand when Vietnam does not spend a lot of money to build new venues like Cambodia.

However, on April 18, Cambodia suddenly announced that it would not collect any fees from SEA Games 32 delegations, from food, accommodation to transportation there. It was Mr. Hun Sen who made this suggestion, contrary to what he said six years ago. A few months earlier, he also announced that he would not collect fees to buy television and media rights for the exams at this congress. Spectators are also free to attend the opening and closing ceremonies or go to the venue, even if it is a sport as attractive as football.

Cambodia became the first host in SEA Games history not to charge these fees, even though they are among the lowest GDP countries in the region, just ahead of Laos, Timor Leste and Brunei.

Initially, Cambodia planned to collect 50 USD per person per day for accommodation and travel expenses of the delegations attending the Congress. Vietnam is likely to save 12 billion VND (about 500,000 USD) from Cambodia's decision, if on average each athlete is 10 days.

Mr. Hun Sen's decision is supported by Southeast Asians on social networks. Facebook account Evrin from Indonesia commented: "Great, the decision is different. Cambodia is trying to take the Games to the next level. Good luck." And account Ming Sinh from Cambodia replied: "I support the government's decision. We are trying to organize the SEA Games in the best way, although there are people who laugh at Mr. Hun Sen's decision. We are. I want to show you how kind and benevolent Cambodians are."

There are also many people who are concerned about whether the organization of the SEA Games will affect the Cambodian economy, especially when they do not collect the above fees. The expense ratio equivalent to 0.25% of GDP is also not small. For Vietnam, this figure is up to 2.8 billion USD. At the 2009 SEA Games, Laos spent 119 million USD just to build a national sports complex and an athletes village, equivalent to 0.5% of GDP.

Laos and Cambodia are also significantly supported financially by neighboring countries, especially China. According to the New York Times, the China Development Bank (CDB) once funded Laos to build a complex worth $100 million in exchange for 1,600 hectares of land on the outskirts of Vientiane. With this land, CDB built an urban area called "China city".

China has also supported Myanmar and Cambodia to organize the SEA Games in a similar way. According to Channel News Asia, China fully paid the $160 million cost to build the Morodok Techo complex in Phnom Penh, as a plan to expand investment and soft power in Southeast Asia. Previously, China also lent Cambodia billions of dollars, making it the country's largest trading partner.

Anyway, Mr. Hun Sen's decision was welcomed by sports delegations. The SEA Games will also benefit, so that the competitions are covered more in the region. Cambodia will also not have to worry about financial problems after the congress, thanks to help from China.