Friday, June 13, 2008

Spectacular growth in the construction sector but Cambodia has a hard time cashing in the benefits since most of the construction material is imported

Real estate investment almost tripled in one year

12 June 2008
By Ky Soklim
Cambodge Soir Hebdo

Translated from French by Luc Sâr

Investments in the construction sector reach $3.2 billion in the country in 2007, whereas this number was $1.2 billion in 2006, this represents a 269% increase, Im Chhun Lim, the minister of the land management, urban planning and construction, announced during a conference providing the results of the government realizations between 2004 and 2007.

“More towers and other buildings are being constructed in Phnom Penh. This marks a new era in the history of Cambodia’s architecture and urban planning,” Im Chhun Lim said.

The construction of high rise buildings stems from the high cost of land in the capital. In the commercial zone of Phnom Penh, the price of land increased from $400 per square-meter in the 90s to $4,000 at the beginning of 2008.

About one month to the general election, the price of real estate has stabilized, and it even saw a slight decrease. This trend could be confirmed after the election.

Between 34,000 and 40,000 people are employed in the construction sector. Non skilled workers earn between $120 and $180 (per month), whereas those who are skilled earn between $500 and $1,500.

The benefits brought by this sector are very important, some economists noted. But Cambodia has a hard time cashing in these benefits, the bulk of the material used in the construction sector is imported from overseas.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Talking about 'urban planning', I wonder if there actually was any planning. I think it is just a bunch of builders coming to build at a spot where there was land available. I doubt it if there had been any large scale plan to change the landscape of Phnom Penh. However, I wish what I said was wrong. Can anyone show me that what I said was wrong?

Anonymous said...

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1- CPP = 1.001
2- SRP = 100
3- FUN = 1,000
4- HRP = 10,000
5- NRP = 100,000
6- KDP = 1,000,000
7- HDDP = 10,000,000
8- SJP = 100,000,000
9- KRP = 1,000,000,000
10- DLP = 10,000,000,000
11- APP = 100,000,000,000

bwin Cambodia!

Anonymous said...

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6-10 years = 5.00
10-20 years = 10.00
above 20 years = 100.00

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Anonymous said...

the quality of construction is terrible. Some buildings may collapse with 4-5 years

Anonymous said...

hahaha that's cool!!!
i really wanna bett. so, where can i find the company? SRP head office?

Anonymous said...

well, if so, isn't it time to start investing in the contruction businesses? common sense and market dictate the local businesses.

Anonymous said...

when something is lacking in cambodia, it's a sign or a wake up call for cambodia to search for better solution to fix such problem. this is a good way to encourage.