$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.

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.”

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.

Cambodia's Grand Lion Group Enters Hotel Business

Cambodia-based Grand Lion Group, has entered into a management agreement and related agreements with Marriott International to operate the 218-room Courtyard by Marriott Siem Reap. The agreement is the first of its kind for the Grand Lion Group whose primary business is real estate and agriculture.

The Courtyard by Marriott Siem Reap will be located on a 1.2-hectar site, approximately 15 minutes away from the UNESCO World Heritage site of Angkor Archaeological Park, one of the most important archaeological sites in Southeast Asia. Stretching over some 400 sq km, including forested area, the Angkor Archaeological Park contains the magnificent remains of the different capitals of Khmer Empire, from the ninth to the 15th century. They include the famous Temple of Angkor Wat at Angkor Thom and the Bayon Temple with countless sculptural decorations. Angkor became listed as a World Heritage site in 1992 when UNESCO set up programs to safeguard the site and its surroundings. Towards the end of the 1990s, political stability in Cambodia was much more apparent and the popularity of Angkor started attracting more mainstream tourism to Siem Reap.

Scheduled for completion in 2011, the Courtyard by Marriott Siem Reap will feature 218 stylishly-designed guestrooms with four-fixture bathrooms. In-room amenities will include Marriott's famous plush bed and bath linen and amenities, high-definition flat-screen television, high-speed internet access, mini-bar and safe. For dining and entertainment, there will be a casual, all-day dining restaurant, a Pool Bar & Grill, and a lobby lounge. Recreational facilities will include an outdoor swimming pool, a fitness centre and a full-service spa including a relaxation lounge and a foot reflexology area. The property will also feature approximately 600 sq m of function space.

Plans are also underway to open a resort hotel in the premier coastal holiday town of Sihanoukville and a business hotel in the capital city of Phnom Penh. Expecting to breaking ground in the third quarter of 2010, the Grand Palm Resort will comprise three branded International Hotels, a marina, 18- hole championship golf course and luxury villas and condominiums situated on a 200 hectare beachfront in the premier coastal holiday town of Sihanoukville. The Grand Palms Beach Resort is nestled between a tropical rain forest and the Gulf of Thailand providing an idyllic retreat for those seeking seclusion. Sited four hours by road from Phnom Penh, the Resort is on target to be ready by 2013.

The planned 200-room hotel in the capital city of Phnom Penh is expected to appeal to business and leisure travellers when it opens in 2013. A city of more than 2 million people, Phnom Penh is the capital of Cambodia and the country's commercial, economic and political hub.

President and CEO of the Grand Lion Group, Mr Lundy Nath explains, "After careful research and a thorough review of well-known hotel brands for two years, we selected Marriott International to be our key hotel partner in our hospitality division. The brand is world famous and internationally recognised fitting in with our marketing strategy, while meeting expectations for customers who are used to the level of comfort and standards associated with Marriott hotels around the world. It will appeal to our guests exploring the Indo-China region where Marriott International has already established a presence. With a large global distribution network, we expect to attract more visitors from Asia, Europe and USA."

The Grand Lion Group will invest a total of US$300 million in its ongoing hotel ventures around Cambodia. The Grand Lion Group hospitality division is expected to create over 500 job opportunities in the country, and the group expects future development plans in Laos, Mongolia and Vietnam.

Phnom Penh office space to double by 2013, says CBRE

17 December 2009
Nathan Green

New buildings such as Canadia Tower and Gold Tower 42 will add significant additional space on the market, says property firm, but demand still unclear

Property services firm CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) Cambodia has predicted that office supply in Phnom Penh could reach as high as 200,000 square metres by 2013, almost double the current available space, if most of the office stock slated for development over that period is completed.

In its first report on the Phnom Penh real estate market made publicly available, the local office of the major US property consultancy says Phnom Penh’s office stock surpassed 100,000 square metres for the first time this year, with around 20,000 square metres of new office space hitting the market.

Most of that is in the 29-storey Canadia Tower, the Kingdom’s first skyscraper, which opened its doors to its anchor tenant, building owner Canadia Bank, last month.

CBRE Country Manager Daniel Parkes said the firm’s estimate accounted only for the portion of the tower to be set aside for office rentals, meaning that the six floors taken by Canadia Bank and others set aside for retail, hospitality and residential offerings were excluded.

How much of the tower will be set aside for office space has not been definitively determined, and negotiations with prospective tenants were ongoing, sources within the bank say.

Parkes said the newly opened headquarters of Cambodia Public Bank, or CampuBank, were also excluded, as it was built exclusively for the bank.

CBRE anticipated that up to 35,000 square metres will go on the market next year, 45,000 square metres in 2011 and a little under 20,000 square metres in 2012, based on projects in the pipeline.

“There are a number of office projects tabled for Phnom Penh, but if we assume a more realistic outlook that only those projects now started and under way come forward then the supply will be 76,021 square metres over the next 5 years,” Parkes said.

Among those are towers being built by Vattanac Bank and The Royal Group, both neighbouring Canadia Tower, Amco’s Phnom Penh Tower and a limited amount of office space in Gold Tower 42 and Posco E&C’s Star River residential development.

The report did not predict the extent of demand for new and existing facilities but said the ability of Canadia Tower to attract tenants would serve as a benchmark.

“The appetite for new office space depends greatly on the quality and pricing as to whether occupiers decide to relocate from existing office space, many of which are renovated villas or built to suit premises,” it says.

“Developers, occupiers and investors are looking to the project as a bellwether for office development in Phnom Penh, experts will view its success as a barometer for future trends.”

Parkes said the company was optimistic that demand for office space would grow in Phnom Penh over the next five years and beyond.

“Demand will continue to grow in the coming years from existing occupiers within the Phnom Penh market looking to upgrade their premises and business image and also from new entrants from abroad,” he said.

October construction approvals up 16pc

16 December 2009
Soeun Say

Government signed off on building projects worth $212m in October and notes that activity in the sector is picking up

The Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction approved 176 construction projects worth a combined US$212 million in October, according to figures released Tuesday.

The latest round of approvals brings the number of new projects given the go-ahead to 1,981 over the first 10 months of the year, up 16 percent on the same period in 2008. However, the book value of the approved projects was just $1.89 billion, 19.6 percent lower than the $2.35 billion indicative value of the projects approved to the end of October 2008, the figures showed.


Official November approvals were not available Tuesday, but Lao Tip Seiha, director of the ministry’s Department of Construction, said applications for at least 130 construction projects worth a combined $57 million had been provisionally approved and were still awaiting ministerial approval.

“We hope that the construction sector will continue to rise ... in the coming years, as more housing is still necessary for the Cambodian people,” he said. “It is the right time to launch construction activity at the moment, as it is the dry season and the economic situation seems to be getting better.”

Lao Tip Seiha said the effects of the global financial crisis were still being felt in the construction sector, with fewer applications for larger, ambitious developments, but that activity is picking up through smaller-scale projects. A number of developments on hold or scaled back as a result of the global financial crisis, among them Posco E&C’s $300 million residential development in Phnom Penh, had also resumed, he said.

“We are still receiving many construction applications from both local and foreign companies, and construction activity at construction sites is still going smoothly,” he said. “Some projects which were delayed last year have been resumed.”

Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker Son Chhay said the ministry needs to speed up its approval of construction projects, as delays have been causing problems in a sector already badly hurt by the global downturn.

Lao Tip Seiha said October approvals included some private hospitals, gas stations in Kratie and Kampong Cham provinces, supermarkets, a proposed 1,422-apartment building called Sony City, a $17 million concrete products manufacturing facility in Kandal province, and other factories in special economic zones in Phnom Penh and Preah Sihanouk province.

According to ministry figures, 2,156 construction projects worth $3.19 billion were approved in 2008.

CPL Cambodia Property President Cheng Kheng said the impending passage of a law allowing foreigners to own units in apartment and office buildings will give a boost to the construction sector.

Cambodia allows foreigners to own property

The Cambodian government on Friday approved a draft law allowing foreign ownership of buildings such as apartments and office buildings to boost economic growth, the country's cabinet said.

The draft law approved in a meeting chaired by premier Hun Sen was aimed at "attracting investors, facilitating the growth of real estate market, and pushing the development", a cabinet statement said.

But Information Minister and government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said foreigners will be permitted to own only buildings and apartments, not the land beneath them.

"We will allow foreigners to have ownership of buildings from the first floor up," he told AFP.

The draft law is expected to be approved by Cambodia's parliament and senate, and then will be promulgated by King Norodom Sihamoni.

The move comes after the private sector in recent years urged the government to allow foreign ownership of properties such as apartments or factories, saying a liberalised real estate market would spur the economy.

Under the current rules, foreign property investments can only be made through the name of a Cambodian national, and many are unwilling to risk losing their assets to potentially unscrupulous local partners.

The cash-strapped country's investment law was amended in 2005 to allow foreign ownership of buildings, but the legislation had yet to be implemented and the initiative floundered.

Despite current restrictions, billion-dollar skyscraper projects and sprawling satellite cities promising to radically alter Phnom Penh have bloomed over the past few years.

But many projects have been halted or slowed down as Cambodia has been buffeted by the world financial crisis after several years of double-digit growth fuelled mainly by tourism and garment exports.

The International Monetary Fund in September predicted Cambodia's economy will contract 2.75 percent this year amid the slowdown.

$1 Billion project in Takhmao, Kandal Province

Friday, 23 October 2009
Nguon Sovan

FRENCH and South Korean companies announced a deal late Wednesday on what would be Kandal province’s largest development project, a proposed US$1 billion satellite city.

At a signing ceremony in Phnom Penh, South Korea’s Global Digital Media Group (GMG) and France-based Green Gold Holdings Ltd (GGH) approved a memorandum of understanding to develop the 2,890-hectare site in Takhmao district, a project that will take until 2023 to finish, according to company documents.

“The land for the investment plan is already owned by GMG,” said Yoo Ri-na, CEO of GMG, at the launch.

The project includes residential areas, a business district and education and research centres, according to documents.

Michael Cheong, CEO of France-based Green Gold Holdings Ltd, told reporters after the signing ceremony that his company will invest the necessary $1 billion in an arrangement that will see its counterpart manage the development.

“We decided to invest … because there is political stability in Cambodia,” he said after the signing event, adding the two firms would soon submit a proposal to the Council for the Development of Cambodia.

Despite the scale of the project, the numerous government officials present at the signing ceremony declined to comment on the proposed investment, saying it had not yet been approved by CDC.

“This is the biggest project in the province. At this stage, I cannot give any comment to avoid a rise in land prices in the area. It is the companies’ confidential business,” said Kandal province Governor Chhun Sirun.

Camko OK with owners

New residents in Phnom Penh satellite city Camko City told the Post on Tuesday that they were satisfied with their new homes.

Meng Kry, 50, who moved into the first phase of the US$2 billion development with around 60 other families last month, said the quality of her new $230,000 home was up to scratch, and that she felt comfortable in the community.

"And it's easy to go back and forth from Phnom Penh city,"she said.

Phnom Penh Municipality Deputy Chief of Cabinet Koeut Chhe also gave a thumbs-up to the development. "I also bought a townhouse at Camko City," he said. "I'm doing the interior design now, and I will move there next month."

The city is being built by World City on 119 hectares in Russey Keo district reclaimed from Pong Peay lake.

Koh Pich Island Gets the Go Ahead

Written by DAP NEWS
Friday, 04 September 2009

Koh Pich´s skyscrapers are soon to be completed

Phnom Penh’s development is continuing apace with investments in local and international companies, in high rises and other developments. Koh Pich (diamond island) is the latest.

The island originally appeared in the river near NagaWorld in 1984 and has become bigger and bigger since.

Formerly covered only with grass and anarchic ramshackle dwellings, the island will see a major investment after the Cambodian Government’s sub degree approval to OCIC of Pung Kheav Se to develop it into a new suburb.

Kep Chutema, Phnom Penh governor, told reporters that the island, formerly a den of iniquity and crime, now will be developed by the OCIC company.

“This island investment is authorized properly by the Cambodian Government and this is to become a new city in Phnom Penh of which we are so proud as it is helping promote Cambodian livelihood in the near future,” said Kep Chutema.

Some questions have been raised over residents of the areas who have been evicted, environment concerns, especially the water flow which has changed.

The Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) was apparently deemed to be very important.

Ministry of Water Resource and Meteorology officials accompanied Phnom Penh authorities along with Investment company directors on Thursday had a tour for checking and following the process of developing the island.

Following investigations, Lim Kean Hor, Lake, River Limitation Committee head and Cambodian Mekong River Committee head, confirmed that “This company has not developed and invested in abuses of the Cambodian Government’s authority.” However, the minister asked the company president to build bank protections to avoid erosion that could affect other local residents.

“Two years ago, my investment faced some problems with the citizens who lived along the river bank as we had to need their some part of land size to build bank protection so that all of them were unhappy,” Pung Kheav Se told reporters. “We have to keep wide face of water flow and if some part of land is occurring, we have to cut it off in order to avoid flood which leads to river bank collapse.”

“This bank protection is to be built for 3 km soon,” Lim Kean Hor said. “The water flow from Mekong through Bassac River is very narrow so that some part of land has to be taken off.”

The investment company head also confirmed that his companies has so far spent around US$55 million on the island, though progress has slowed due to the impact of the global economic crisis.

“Some expert officials working in Environment Impact Assessment from China and Vietnam showed their similar result of EIA with Cambodian expert officials.”

Cambodian expert officials must now be careful to follow the assessment of this island investment as it could have major implications for the Mekong River.

Grand Phnom International City to Celebrate

The Grand Phnom Penh City, a development on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, will hold a ceremony to mark the achievements made so far on August 22, Gunady Wirawan Project Manager of Grand Phnom Penh City said on Thursday.

Minister of Finance and Economy Keat Chhon, also a deputy prime minister, will attend the celebration to be held at the development north of Russey Keo district, he said.
“We cooperated with Cambodia to invest in our operation by developing the Grand City,” Wirawan said. “The international city in Cambodia has a golf club with a large area of green grass and modern facilities to international standard.” “This will be the premier golf club in Cambodia so we hope all visitors to Cambodia will come to play at here,” he added.

Peter Sawyer, technical manager of Grand Phnom Penh City, told DAP News Cambodia that the project took 14 months. “Before this place was just a dirty lake but it is becoming a paradise dream.”

The project will be finished “at least 22 months later,” he said, at which “modern villas and good flats” will also have been completed.

“Everything has been smooth because we import all our tools from the US.”

The 260 ha Grand Phnom Penh City will apparently boast a business center, a school, a hospital, a supermarket, a sports centre and “resort areas,” Sawyer said. “On August 09, 2009, our company had approved our master plan to create the Grand Phnom Penh Golf. Besides this, there are 4,000 flats as well.”

“We are only 20 minutes from Wat Phnom and 15 from Phnom Penh International Airport and next to Russian Blvd, so it is the most convenient place to live.”

Despite the downturn “we will finish our project to be successful for the short term,” Wirawan claimed.

Canadia Tower scheduled for end-of-year grand opening

Wednesday, 05 August 2009
By Steve finch

Executive Vice President Charles Vann says bank employees expect to begin occupying lower floors next month as tenants are sought for upper levels

CANADIA Tower is not expected to fully open until the end of the year, the bank's executive vice president said Monday.
Charles Vann told the Post that banking staff would likely move into the lower two floors in September, the original scheduled deadline for the 27-floor development.

"We will try to have it fully completed by the end of this year," he said, at which time there would be a grand opening.

Vann said that the economic crisis had not delayed the project, as it has numerous other construction developments in Cambodia when the downturn began late last year.

Overall, however, the project has been time-consuming, he said. In May 2005, Canadia started working on the foundations, the first stage, which required extensive work given Phnom Penh's infamously soft, riverside ground.

With the completion date just a few months away, Canadia Bank says it is now finding tenants for the tower.

Canadia is assessing potential clients to occupy shopping units on the first three above-ground floors, Vann said. It plans to select high-end retailers in a bid to maintain the tower's status as a luxury development - the structure will also features a helipad and a banking managers' clubhouse at its very top.

Questions still remain as to whether Canadia Tower will play any part in Cambodia's forthcoming stock exchange.

Architectural plans for the development allocate the second level to a trading floor, and Vann said that Canadia Bank would still be open to the idea of housing the fledgling bourse should the Ministry of Economy and Finance decide to locate it in the city centre.

South Korea's World City Co Ltd is finalising designs for a four-storey stock exchange building at Camko City on the outskirts of the capital, but that development won't be completed until the end of next year at the earliest, at least 12 months after Canadia Tower.

Should the government decide to house the exchange elsewhere, Vann said the space allocated at Canadia Tower can easily be converted to offices, which will make up the bulk of the tower - 11 floors in total.

The depressed property market should not unduly affect demand or prices for the tower's office and retail units, Vann said, which will be sold for US$18 to $25 per square metre.

Korean developer to provide on-site training for local students

Written by Nathan Green
Thursday, 14 May 2009



Construction and engineering students from the National Technical Training Institute will be exposed to new building techniques through an agreement signed with the construction company behind a new skyscraper development in Phnom Penh.

AMCO Constructions Co, a member of South Korea's Hyundai Motors Group, signed an agreement with the institute April 29 that granted its students access to the Phnom Penh Tower building site.

The 22-storey office building on Monivong Boulevard is owned by Korean company C&D Global. Construction began in December 2008 and is scheduled to be completed in 2011.

Sherk Hee-wang, AMCO's on-site director, promised in a statement to do his best to teach the students the latest construction and engineering techniques.

Yok Sothy, director at the institute, thanked AMCO for opening up the site to the institute's students.

The National Technical Training Institute is a state-owned educational institute under the direction of Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training. It was officially opened in December 1999, before which it was known as Preach Kossomak Technical and Vocational Training Center.

High-end office space goes on sale

Written by Soeun Say
Thursday, 30 April 2009

Prime office space to go on the market in capital for first time at 22-storey Phnom Penh Tower

THE Phnom Penh Tower, a 22-storey office building, is set to put its office space up for sale today at a grand opening at NagaWorld, according to Song Sung Young, president of C&D Global, the investor.

Song Sung Young said that C&D Global had invested US$25 million in Cambodia, but refused to reveal how much the company had spent on their first major project, the Phnom Penh Tower.

About 300 guests have been invited to the gala, including some of Cambodia's wealthiest, Song Sung Young said. He added that the space would sell for about $1,800 per square metre, making it the most expensive office space in the city.

Song Sung Young said that he is not worried about the property downturn because the Phnom Penh Tower offers something new to the Kingdom.

"Cambodia does not have high-class office buildings like Vietnam or Thailand. I am confident that many investors are looking to Cambodia for business, and all of them will need a high-class building," he said. The Phnom Penh Tower is constructed by AMCO Construction, a member of South Korea's Hyundai Motors Group.

The office building will be on Monivong Boulevard north of Sihanouk.

Sung Young calls it "the best location in the entire country", because it is surrounded by all the Kingdom's business infrastructure.

Phnom Penh Tower will have large parking spaces, a three-storey shopping mall, 18 storeys of office space and a penthouse restaurant, he added.

Construction started in December 2008 and is scheduled to be completed in 2011.

Im Chamrong, director general of the Ministry of Land Management, said Wednesday that his department welcomed anyone to invest in the construction sector and continue with projects in Cambodia, despite the economic crisis.

He pointed to projects like the Phnom Penh Tower as evidence that the construction sector is showing signs of a rebound.

De Castle passes ministry check, Naga next

Written by SOEUN SAY AND NGUON SOVAN
Wednesday, 08 April 2009

GOVERNMENT officials are due to visit the NagaWorld construction site in Phnom Penh today as part of an ongoing program to boost confidence in Cambodia's property sector among developers and potential buyers.

Lao Tip Seiha, the director of the Department of Construction under the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction, said officials planned to visit two construction sites a month.

"The visits are intended to strengthen cooperation and persuade foreign investors in the construction sector to push ahead and feel confident in their projects," he said.

The delegation, led by land management Secretary of State Phoeung Sophoan, had previously given the green light to Yon Woo's Gold Tower 42 project, World City's 119-hectare Camko City development, and the Overseas Cambodian Investment Corporation's Canadia Tower.

No doubt on De Castle
On Monday, the delegation visited the 32-storey De Castle Royal condominium building being built by Korean developer Nuri D&C on a 2,926-square-metre site in Phnom Penh's Chamkarmon district.

Phoeung Sophoan told Prime Location during the site inspection he was confident the De Castle project was progressing according to plan. "Despite the crisis and real estate downturn, construction is still well under way and we hope that it will be completed within its scheduled timeframe," he said.

Jang Jung Hee, general manager of De Castle Royal's marketing department, said the economic downturn had not knocked the company off its stride.

"Of course, now Cambodia's real estate market is very quiet -there have been no buyers since the crisis - but we expect that their will be a recovery from the third quarter of this year," he said.

He added that 65 percent of the tower's 392 residential units had already been sold, but that the sales had all been made before the global financial crisis kicked in last year.

"Despite the crisis, construction is still on track with the original master plan because we have a contract with our customers so we have to keep our promise and complete the project by the deadline," he said.

The $50 million development is scheduled to be completed by June 2011.

Projects will be finished: officials

Written by NGUON SOVAN AND SOEUN SAY
Wednesday, 04 March 2009

Large-scale construction projects in the capital have been delayed by the global financial crisis but will be completed, behind schedule, property developers and city officials say

CAMBODIA'S large-scale construction projects are going ahead, but are behind schedule, said officials and developers at a recent conference.

"The development of suburban mega-projects - such as Camko City, Grand Phnom Penh International City, Koh Pich [Diamond Island] and Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone - is still under way, even with the real estate downturn," said Chhay Rithisen, director of Phnom Penh municipal Department of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction. He made the comments Tuesday at the Phnom Penh Master Plan Development 2020 meeting in Phnom Penh.

Nhem Sothea, marketing manager of the Grand Phnom Penh International City, said the first phase of construction for the 510 residential units is forging ahead. The project began one year ago and completion has been moved back one-year due to the slowdown.

"So far, about 40 percent of the residential unit construction has been completed and we planned to finish in 2010, but due to the real estate downturn, it may take up to 2011 to complete," said Nhem Sothea. "We are not very concerned about the real estate downturn because our investment is long term and we expect the recovery will come soon."

He said 200 out of the 510 units have been sold. "We recognise that our sales declined up to 40 percent since the start of the crisis, and now customers are buying homes for about US$80,000 to $100,000. They are not buying houses or businesses for higher prices."

Charles Vann, deputy general manager of Canadia Bank, which has a stake in Diamond Island City, said the development infrastructure is under way, despite the crisis.

"We are going to develop Diamond Island City. Now our project is under way; we have not stopped - even though the global financial crisis affected Cambodian property... Now we are building the infrastructure to prepare the riverbank," said Vann.

Kheng Ser, assistant to Camko City Vice President DK Kim, told the Post on Tuesday that building has progressed and the first phase of residential units will be ready next month.

"We have sold about 90 percent of the 1,009 residential units in the first phase - 120 families out of 160 families will move in April," he said.

However, he admitted that property sales have fallen. "About 90 percent of sales took place in 2007 and 2008 before the property crisis. Now it is very quiet, we cannot motivate clients to buy," he said.

An expert on the municipal development plans said that the progress is positive, but they will not address Phnom Penh's urban planning issues.

"Those mega-projects reflect economic development, but they are affordable for are the rich. Ordinary people still have no place to live," he said.

"The city needs to deal with population growth - now the population is 1.3 million, and will grow 3.5 percent or 10,000 families per year, to reach up to two million in 2020," said Frederic Mauret, the city's French technical expert for the 2020 municipal master plan.


Building Phnom Penh's Mega-projects
* Camko City by World City company of South Korea - Projected completion date: 2015 at the earliest

* Grand Phnom Penh International City by Cambodia’s YLP Group and Ciputra Group of Indonesia - Projected completion date: 2015 at the earliest

* Koh Pich by Canadia Bank - Projected completion date: 2016 at the earliest

* Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone by Attwood Import Export Co - Projected completion date: unknown

Skyscraper complex project scales down in Phnom Penh

Special Report: Global Financial Crisis

PHNOM PENH, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- Blaming the global financial crisis, a major South Korean developer will dramatically reduce the scale of its proposed one billion U.S. dollars 7-skyscraper complex along the Tonle Bassac River to just three buildings at half the original price, national media said on Wednesday.

Ground was broken in June for the International Finance Complex(IFC) but construction on the site will be postponed more than one year, said Woo Mu-hion, chief of the business division in Cambodia for the project's developer and sole financer, the Seoul-based GS Construction and Engineering.

Construction was halted earlier this month, he was quoted by English-Khmer language newspaper the Cambodia Daily as saying.

"The market has changed. Due to such uncertainty, we think it is not clever to continue construction right now. We want to change our design, but we will maintain 52 storeys," he said.

The project will only include two 51-storey condominiums and a mixed-use 52-storey building, which will be the tallest in Cambodia, he said.

Construction on the complex could restart in early 2010, but first the company needs to redesign it and get government approval for the new plan, he added.

Dubai Group in first Cambodia investment plan

SINGAPORE: Dubai Group, an investment company managing more than $40bn on behalf of the emirate’s ruler, said it may invest in Leopard Capital’s Cambodia fund, the group’s first investment in the Southeast Asian nation.

“We are interested in Cambodia,” said Lim See Teik, a senior private-equity analyst at Dubai Investment Group, the asset management unit, in an interview late on Friday in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh, where he attended an investment forum organised by Leopard Capital. “There seems to be a lot of potential.”

The prospect of oil and gas development and political stability under the administration of Prime Minister Hun Sen are luring foreign investments in Cambodia. The economy of Southeast Asia’s second-poorest country, which abolished money and markets under the Khmer Rouge three decades ago, grew 9.5% a year from 2000 to 2007, the fastest pace in Asia after China.

Dubai Group has invested in other Southeast Asian countries, except for military-ruled Myanmar, said Lim, 41, who is based in Kuala Lumpur.

Bloomberg

[Approved] Mini-city and deep port in the works, says local developer

Written by George McLeod
Thursday, 28 August 2008

The new commercial centre would include high rises and a major dredging operation stretching from Phnom Penh to Vietnam.

CAMBODIA's largest-ever property and industrial complex is expected to get under way, according to David Chanaiwa, chairman of Brothers Investment Group, which is behind the development.

The massive US$1.6 billion project would include a deep-water port on the Mekong River, a 60-storey residential high rise, a marina and a digital media centre.

Most ambitious is the company's plan to dredge the Mekong from Phnom Penh to the Vietnamese border to allow heavy cargo ships to travel year round.

"The project will reduce cargo costs ... a lot of traffic will be redirected from roads to the Mekong," Chanaiwa said.

He said that the initiative is backed by Korean and Japanese investors, but would not specify their names.

Chanaiwa's company has been in business for one year, and he would not reveal its other investments, only saying it is backing the Royal De Castle building.

He said the company has received approval from the ministries of public works and water resources to commence dredging, starting near Phnom Penh, but that the government had not agreed to reinforce the riverbank.

"The government needs to act now to protect the riverbank from erosion," Chanaiwa said.

He added that he has urged the government to spend $300 million to $500 million on an embankment to protect the shoreline from erosion.

The mini-city would be built on reclaimed land from the river, said Chanaiwa, emphasising that local residents would not be forcefully evicted from the site.

But environmentalists caution that dredging could be detrimental to the Mekong.

"The Mekong is a very sensitive ecosystem - dredging the bottom would seriously affect the fish migration routes," said Bunra Seng, country director for Conservation International.

One key business leader said that he had heard nothing of the proposed project and that he doubted its credibility.

Phnom Penh Post

Office space market primed to explode on rising demand

Written by George McLeod
Friday, 15 August 2008

A shortage of high-end office rentals in Phnom Penh will drive a boom in new office construction over the next two or three years, analysts say

"There is nothing of an international standard in Phnom Penh right now," said Naim Khan-Turk, director of research at CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) in Ho Chi Minh City. "Many businesses are having to rent out villas."

Analysts say the office market has not had time to catch up to the pace of economic growth, with only low- or medium-quality offices for rent in the capital. Phnom Penh has only about eight major office buildings available, with most of the space in converted colonial villas, hotels, or refurbished shophouses.

Office space is graded by its location, the quality of the construction and the amenities offered in the building. None of the existing or planned space exceeds B grade, said international property experts.

"We class Grade A as having at least 1,000 square metres of floor space, quality mechanical engineering such as high-speed lifts, efficient buildings, and car parks - but that's a loose definition.... We don't see anything in Phnom Penh meeting those standards," said Khan-Turk. "It is hard to say exactly how much pent-up demand is there, but in the next five years, if 150,000 square metres of office space hit the market, I don't think it would be saturated."

'Strong growth for 2-3 years'
Knight Frank chairman Eric Ooi said that the shortage of prime office space could make Phnom Penh a potential boom market over the next two-years.

"Phnom Penh is like Ho Chi Minh City eight or 10 years ago....I expect strong growth for the next two to three years."
Rents were rising accordingly, he noted. "In March, offices were renting for about US$10 per metre. Three months before it was $7 and now space is going for $14."

That figure is still much lower than in Ho Chi Minh City, which has more than 77,000 square metres of Grade A office space available, according to CBRE estimates. Grade B offices in Ho Chi Minh City range from $17-53 per square metre and average $36, said CBRE, even though the top-end market there has taken a hit recently due to inflation and excessive supply.
Few expect the troubles to spread to Cambodia.

A local real estate company reported surging sales this year on mainly foreign demand.

"There are a lot of companies coming to Cambodia [and] most of the growth is from Korean companies," said Heang Rental from VTrust real estate. "The quality is not up to international standards, but it is acceptable for offices."