A comment by an observer in Phnom Penh
Originally posted at http://about-cambodia.blogspot.com
The investment and building construction companies didn't count on Khmer culture when starting this building spree. Khmers have commented that living in apartment buildings, crammed in with other families, reminds them of the Pol Pot times and its not their culture to live like that. As such, no one has been buying these properties. Two Korean companies building on separate locations in Toul Kok have had to stop construction halfway through because they have no advance sales of their properties to provide the funds for further work. The government has bailed one of these companies out by injecting the cash they need to continue building, in exchange for a share of the company.
If the government wants to continue doing this it will soon run out of money. [Note by KJE, the author of About Cambodia blog]
If the government wants to continue doing this it will soon run out of money. [Note by KJE, the author of About Cambodia blog]
8 comments:
I am against huge apartments. They only create congestions for the traffic and city beauty, hectic lifestyles, and shamble atmosphere of national image.
Cambodia was once the pearl of Asia in the 1920's during the French administration. Cambodia's beauty is distinct and unique apart from other crowded Asian cities.
Phnom Penh should remain as sister city with Paris, which believe horizontal dispersion, not vertical dispersion. We still much more land to expand. Why are building our buildings upward. It doesn't make sense at all.
I agree with the previous gentleman that this kind of complexes would only remind us the Cambodian lifestyles under the Communist Chinese supported-Communist Pol Pot.
Our economy could stil benefit so much more by not building these high, useless, buildings, which the price of renting or owing high and the ways of life are glim. Wealthy companies from abroad could invest their wealth by contructing homes, villas, throughout Phnom Penh.
I think these governors of Phnom Penh do not think about Phnom Penh's heritage, its past beauty, and its future. They only think with the flow of other Asian cities. For example, Bangkok is very crowded and congested with 12 million people with such serious problems such as high prostitions, illicit crimes such as drug smuggling, corruption, and severe living conditions. Preynokor is crowded with the same problems. Their homes are 5 meters by 2 meters. Why are they still following these examples?
Where were they educated? This is a shame. They should let real, competent Khmer handle these positions.
Beware
Obviously, the opinion and likes or dislikes of the Khmer are not important...
Everything is being pushed down the throats of the Khmer and they are told to like it.
It is easier this way...the various Cambodians leaders been telling us. Yet, with each successive generation, Khmer society, culture and economy grows more depend on neighboring countries, and the Khmer themselves are becoming more confused...
And we all wonder why Cambodia is the poor child of Asia and the world.
The politicians only see the grandeur of those buildings, mistaking it for their own achievement. They forget that housing for poor people should be affordable. Those high-rises going up are not for the average people. High-rises are nice for big city business districts, which Phnom Penh istn't, andix don't change the charming look of Phnom Penh. Once the existing buildings are renovated you might the Pearl of Asia again. Everything else would be shame.
A lot of people are not using their heads when come to city planning? Cambodia should ask its self what kind of a city it want to have in the foreseeable future? If it wants Cambodia to look like the other Asian cities, then go ahead with building frenzies that the Asian have built. Now it is a unique opportunity for us to decide what we want for our city and country...
i respect everybody's opinion. however, please keep in mind that not everyone can agree with your not wanting to have skyscrapers and apartment blocks or something in that aspect. i think it is ok to have skyscrapers, to have single family houses, to have single story buildings or shorter buildings, etc. i kept saying that this is why they have a designated area for downtown, for residential neighborhood, for parks, etc,. this is for urban planner to design to suite everyone's interest. but one thing i don't agree with is that cambodia should not build high-rises like skyscrapers and what have you. some small interest group of people even suggested that cambodia as a nation should not progress forward like the rest of the world and that cambodia should stay ancient and different from the rest of the world, etc. i, personally, don't really agree with that kind of thinking because for 1) cambodia is not alone in the world, 2) the entire world is changing and cambodia ought not be left behind,3) cambodia should have choices, 4)skyscrapers and modern infrastructures are signs of modernization and good, progressive standard of living that cambodian people need in order to compete with the neighboring country because it's just not fair for thailand and vietnam to build their cities and cambodia to lack behind; it's just not fair, to say the least, 5) it is also ok to preserve old, beautiful colonial buildings and to build more character of cambodia, so it should also be ok to have skyscrapers and modern conveniences as well but maybe in a designated area. i mean, the city planner has to designate it with character in mind; and it is ok; it won't mess up the cityscape. but one thing i can say for sure is that cambodia can not afford to stay behind the rest of the world; cambodia is not a lonely country on this planet. until that's the case, cambodian people like myself want very much to see cambodia grow and change like the rest of the world. i mean i respect some cambodian who beg to be different, however, we also have to think global with cambodian characteristic in mind as well. before one criticize cambodia, did everyone look at malaysia's city, bangkok, ho chi minh city, manila, seoul, taipei, singapore, etc....., i say, it's just not fair to criticize cambodians who want their cities to be competitive with these mentioned cities of the world. so, i supported skyscrapers in cambodia. i like the old saying: " the world is bigger than your oyster." which is equivalent to the khmer saying: " the world is bigger than your frog in the pond or well." i encourage cambodia to be like the rest of the world, keeping our khmer character in mind though. nothing is impossible.
The South Korean designs are full of flaw! If I live in one of those Korean building for even 3 months and I would go crazy because it lacks the beauty, conformity, artistic...and I think the South Korean built those housing complex for people who have mental problems with a lot of money!
Oh well! Those housing complex are not for Cambodian people to live but foreigners! Ahahhahhahahh
For those people who want to know the art of living and I would recommend checking out the future of architecture in Dubai.
http://www.pbase.com/bmcmorrow/dubaiaerials&page=all
http://www.flixxy.com/dubai-dynamic-architecture.htm
Check it out!
http://www.pbase.com/bmcmorrow/dubaiprojects
well, koreas don't have to be the only one building skyscrapers in cambodia. i don't see any other country come and build skyscrapers, so if the koreans are willing, more power to them. one can't ligetimately complain about the koreas wanting to build skyscrapers in cambodia when the american, the french, british, australian,etc., did not bother to come to cambodia to do the same. it's open door policy. who's stopping them from wanting to build tall buildings like the koreans. so, can't just complain and not doing anything to contribute to the development of cambodia. i say more power to the risk takers; actually it's not that risky. i mean didn't the australians said that cambodia was risky to invest when they first brought ANZ banks and their ATMs to cambodia for the first time. look now, atms are all over cambodia which is a good thing for those of us who would like to have it in cambodia to take money out. and now people say the same thing to other development. talking about pessimestic people. i wouldn't want to be like those pessimestic people. more power to those who have the 'just do it' attitude.
and i can tell you, it won't be the last skyscrapers either. i think once skyscrapers are put into use, people are going to think differently about cambodia when they see it. then, perhaps, other will follow suit. but right now, there are so much pessimestic views about it, and people are afraid of taking risk. i say someone got to start somewhere. and usually the one who aren't afraid to take risk reaps the most benefit later. someone got to set the trend; and nothing is more true about this than in cambodia, take the ATMs, for example.
there are always somebody against it, but cambodia as a nation can not afford to have that kind of bad influences it her long-term goal of development of the country.
allow cambodia to be built like dubai or something, i don't care what pp is model after, as long as we just do it.
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