Phnom Penh, Aug 1 (IANS): More than 80 per cent of the rural population in Cambodia now have access to clean water and sanitation, up from 70 per cent five years ago, a senior official said here on Monday.

Ministry of Rural Development's secretary of state Chrun Theravat said that since 2018, the Ministry has seen completion of the construction of 11,741 wells, 1,271 community ponds, 2,440 rainwater tanks and 200 water distribution systems, as well as distributed 145,865 large water jars to households, reports Xinhua news agency.

For the rural sanitation, he said that the ministry has worked to get 433,014 toilets built for villagers and 11,198 handwashing facilities built at public schools.

"We have set our goal to reach 100 percent access to clean water supply and sanitation in rural areas by 2025," he told a press conference.

From late 2017, rural water supply projects, in Phases I and II, have built more than 1,800 community wells and nearly 130 community ponds in 16 Cambodian provinces.

Last December, Minister of Rural Development Ouk Rabun said at a ceremony marking completion of the Phase-II projects that "these wells and community ponds will undoubtedly contribute to improving rural people's living conditions, reducing poverty and boosting rural economic growth as well as narrowing the development gap between urban and rural areas".

Official data show some 77 per cent of Cambodia's 16-million population live in rural areas.