Cambodia’s border casinos are facing a labor shortage that threatens to delay their efforts to resume operations, according to local media reports.
More than seven months after Phnom Penh’s NagaWorld reopened its doors, casinos in the border towns of Poipet and Bavet remain closed with both operators and the government citing a lack of workers after two years of COVID-forced closures.
“I have noticed that some owners wish to resume their business operations, but it is still impossible because [their] facilities were closed down for a long time. They also need to hire people for work,” Ros Phearun, deputy director-general at the Finance Ministry’s Financial Industry Department, told The Khmer Times.
Phearun said many properties remained in a state of disrepair due to a lack of maintenance throughout the pandemic.
The media outlet also quoted the hotel manager at Bavet’s Titan King Casino Hotel & Resort, Hak Vy, who said, “I think it would be difficult to recruit the staff back because we have lost contact with many of them. Others might have switched to other sectors, including factories. Now, some casinos have announced their intention to recruit staff, but I am not sure how many people will apply.”
The delays are despite rapidly falling case numbers across Cambodia, with Prime Minister Hun Sen revealing on Thursday there had been no new cases for three consecutive days.
As previously reported by IAG, Donaco International Ltd said last week that it is ready to resume casino operations at its Poipet casino, Star Vegas, pending final approval from the Cambodian government.
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