$35m Canadia project

Thursday, 18 March 2010 15:00
Soeun Say

A US$35 million housing project next to Phnom Penh International Airport will be completed by early 2011 and is nearly full, despite the economic downturn, a Canadia Bank official said Wednesday. Construction of Airway Complex City, financed by the bank, began in early 2009 and sits on 6.5 hectares of land in Dangkor District’s Chom Chao Commune, said Sok Sambath, a project manager at Canadia Bank. The complex includes 192 flats, 65 three-story connected houses and 32 luxury villas directly across the road from the airport. “We have already sold about 90 percent, and most of my clients are Cambodian businesspersons,” said Sok Sambath, who is in charge of commercial housing and construction. Prices range from $90,000 for the least expensive flats to $300,000 for the most pricey villas, and the bank has established payment schedules between seven and 10 years.

Japan To Grant Over US$31 million to Cambodia

Phnom Penh, March 16, 2010 AKP

The Japanese Government will provide up to the amount of ¥2,859,000,000, approximately US$31,800,000, in grant for the implementation of four development projects in Cambodia.

The Exchange of Notes on the extension of the grant aid will be signed here on Mar. 18 by Deputy Prime Minister H.E. Hor Namhong, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and Japanese Ambassador to Cambodia H.E. Masafumi Kuroki, said a press release of the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation on Monday.

According to the press release, of the total amount, ¥239 million will be used for the Construction of Neak Loeung Bridge (detailed design), ¥720 million for the Introduction of Clean Energy by Solar Electricity Generation System, ¥1,000 million for the Improvement of Capabilities to Cope with Natural Disasters Caused by Climate Change, and the rest (¥900 million) for the Forest Preservation Programme.

Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia will preside over the signing ceremony, it added.

Owner says $40m mall will open before 2011

Tuesday, 16 March 2010 15:03
Soeun Say

A NEW six-storey US$40 million shopping centre will open in Phnom Penh before 2011, the owner of the development said Monday.

“We have completed 70 percent of the whole project and will open our doors to customers at the end of this year,” said Ear Kim Keng, managing director of Happiness City, where the 100,000-square-metre Young’s Commercial Shopping Centre is being built on reclaimed swamp land, about 100 metres on the eastern side of the Cambodian-Japanese Friendship Bridge.

“We have attracted 52 percent of the clients we need to rent our space so far,” said Ear Kim Keng.

He added that negotiations are ongoing with KFC, Pizza Company, Cambodian Public Bank, Canadia Bank and City Mart – which he said is interested in a 1,000-square-metre space.

Rental prices at the centre are set at around $300 per month for a 3-metre-by-4-metre shop space. If a client rents a store for 10 years, he can stay for 100 years without charge, thanks to a new promotion.

The capital already has a large number of one-stop shopping centres. The first major mall, Sorya Shopping Centre, opened for business in 2002. It was followed by Pencil Mall, Sydney Mall, Paragon Cambodia, Sovanna and City Mall.

The managers of Young’s potential competitors are not concerned by the new threat.

“We are not worried because we have a good location, good car parking, and we will run promotions such as music concerts and lucky draws every month,” said Chheang Meng, manager of Bayon Shopping Centre in Phnom Penh.

Lam Sopheap, general manager of Sorya, said: “Our shopping mall is still number one because we always update our place to be fresh and fun for customers.”

Taiwanese shoemaker builds new factory

Tuesday, 16 March 2010 15:03
Chun Sophal

TAIWANESE footwear producer Bao Cheng International Group (BCIG) is set to open a factory in Cambodia this year, according to a report released by the Cambodia-Taiwan Trade Association.

YH Chiang, chairman of the association, said Monday that BCIG is constructing a large footwear factory on 40,000 square metres of land beside National Road 4 in Phnom Penh.

It is planning to produce Adidas footwear for international export, he added.

“We hope that the company’s investment will help develop Cambodia’s economy,” he said.

According to the association, construction of the factory started last month. It is set to employ around 10,000 Cambodian workers.

BCIG currently has footwear factories in three countries, including China, Indonesia and Vietnam. It exports millions of pairs of shoes every year.

On Monday, Chiang did not disclose the amount of capital the company would invest in the scheme, nor the number of shoes the company would produce in Cambodia. He said the figures were the company’s private business.

Yun Heng, director of the Department of Evaluation and Incentives at the Council for the Development of Cambodia, said Monday that the investment project had been approved in early January 2010.

He told a reporter that he did not remember the value of the investment and, as he was travelling from Ratanakiri province to Phnom Penh, could not find out.

“We have already approved the investment project of this company because it responds to the government’s policy in striving to create more job opportunities for Cambodian people,” he said.

According to the Cambodia-Taiwan Trade Association, 300 Taiwanese companies are investing in Cambodia at present, mostly in the garment sector and in footwear production.

SKorean firm plans $300m project

Monday, 08 March 2010 15:02
Soeun Say

SOUTH Korean developer Hi-Sun Group is set to invest US$300 million on a commercial and residential development in the capital’s northern Russey Keo district, said a company representative.

Joseph Lim, personal secretary to Chairman Kim Byung-hak, said the firm would start building offices buildings and residences, including luxury villas, on the 2.5-hectare site by the end of the year.

“We are planning to start construction on our project this year, but we are not being specific on the schedule for completion, as we don’t yet know,” he said, adding that Hi-Sun was specifically targeting South Korean companies to invest in the development.

South Korea’s Technology Innovation Construction Co Ltd (TIC) would be partnering on the project, Lim added, which will include buildings 25 storeys high.

The start date for the project appeared to be some way off, however, as an official of the Construction Department of the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction said it had not yet received any request to build on the site.

“This is a big investment for the construction sector, if it is really going to be built,” said Lao Tip Seiha, director of the department, adding that the firm would receive governmental backing were it to apply for the necessary paperwork.

Hi-Sun has partnered with TIC on a number of Phnom Penh construction projects. In September, TIC Sales and Marketing Manager Charles Villar told the Post the two South Korean firms were working together on five projects in the Cambodian capital – two on the outskirts and three within the confines of the city.

The group has already completed a luxury residential development, De Castle Diamond, in Toul Kork district, the largest condominium project in Phnom Penh at 178 units within an 18-storey building on 2,500 square metres of land.

Another project, the $11 million L’Artisan Takhmao Villa Development, features 40 luxury villas on the outskirts of the capital in Kandal province. Construction work began following a groundbreaking ceremony at the site in Toul Krasang Village on June 26.