The chairman of Canadia Bank and Overseas Cambodia Investment Corp (OCIC) said his company is developing a 500-hectare industrial park in Kampong Speu province (along the National Road 51).
Chairman Neak Oknha Pung Kheav Se said the company is now filling the land and setting up the drainage system, water, electricity and other facilities. It is expected that when the COVID-19 pandemic ends, he, together with government officials, will head to China to attract investors to the zone.
“We are developing the industrial park in Kampong Speu along the National Road 51. We are now seeking to collaborate with one big Chinese firm, specialising in construction machinery, to set up a factory in the zone. We are in the process of negotiating with them,” he added.
“We spent around $20 million for the land and another $10 million for other facilities, so with this $30 million, we expect that we can start the project. We hope we can attract more investors to our industrial park. However, at present it is difficult to attract them because of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Oknha Kheav Se added.
“So far, four to five companies have signed a deal with us. They purchased the land, but they have not yet built their factories,” Kheav Se said.
He added that the industrial park will attract some garment factories in Veng Sreng Street in Phnom Penh to move their workplaces to the industrial park because Phnom Penh is small. Kheav Se added that he will do the campaigning and promotion together with the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce, Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation and the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) in China to attract Chinese firms to invest in the SEZ [special economic zone],” Kheav Se added.
The development of SEZs in Cambodia is still in its nascent stage. Today, some of the largest foreign investors in Cambodia include China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, the United Kingdom and the US. Out of the 36 approved SEZs, only 17 have commenced operations.
Chrek Soknim, president of Cambodian Valuers and Estate Agents Association (CVEA) said the National Road 51and national road 44 bloc have economic potential and will be receiving big investment in the future. He added factories will move to that bloc.
“We will see the Special Economic Zone of the National Road 51and national road 44 in the Kampong Speu bloc. I think those areas will become commercial because more and more factories are setting up along the National Road 51and national road 44,” Soknim added.
“The National Road 51is a ring road, so it is easy to transport materials to factories, so factories can move from Phnom Penh to reduce congestion and the development of the city. Kampong Speu is not far,” he said.
He said that the situation and activities of the real estate sector will steadily recover. Local people especially are looking to resume transactions in both purchasing and selling and seeking out property.
“So far we have not seen growth, but the sector started recovering over the past couple of months. It is quiet, but now in the capital, on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Kep, Kampot, Preah Sihanouk, and Kampong Speu province are starting to see transactions,” Soknim added.
“However we do not expect it to grow like early this year because people are still cautious about the COVID-19 situation but, in the next couple of months, the real estate sector will be back to normal.”
This article was first published in Khmer Times. All contents and images are copyright to their respective owners and sources.
