Affordable housing deemed key for the Kingdom’s development

Affordable housing deemed key for the Kingdom’s development

Affordable housing projects have played a crucial role over recent years in providing homes to low- and middle-income Cambodian families and boosting the construction sector, the Minister of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction has said.

Speaking at the opening of the 8th Cambodia Constructors Association Summit and the Cambodia-International Construction Industry Expo 2019, Minister Chea Sophara said affordable housing is essential for the country’s economic development, noting it was also a great help for newlyweds.

“The affordable prices of these projects brings confidence and stability to many people across the country.

“That is why the Cambodian government has issued an order to the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction to endeavour to create further affordable housing projects,” Sophara said.

The government has long encouraged investment in affordable housing, but so far only three companies have stepped in.

Worldbridge Land is working on a project in Kandal province’s Saang district, while Arakawa Co Ltd is investing $70 million in a development in Phnom Penh’s Sen Sok district.

Bun Ches Groups Company is developing an $88 million project in Kandal’s Ponhea Leu district.

Yuk Sothirith, general manager of Worldbridge Homes Co Ltd, a subsidiary of Worldbridge Land, told The Post that the foundations for the Kandal project are complete.

Phase I is now 90 per cent complete and will be finished by the end of next year, he said.

Sothirith said the company is now focusing on the project’s green spaces.

“We plan to hand over 600 homes to customers during the first quarter of next year,” he said.

Phase I is almost fully sold, with prices ranging from $25,000 to $30,000 per apartment. He did not provide details on sales for Phase II.

Eang Sotheara, a co-founder of Arakawa, the developer of Arakawa Residence in Sen Sok, said affordable housing reduces the number of slums and stops land disputes.

Arakawa Residence is a condominium project built on 1.36ha. It is divided into two stages, with Phase I consists of 10 buildings, each 10-storeys high, while Phase II will have six buildings and a total of 1,280 units.

The project follows Japanese standards and aims to provide residents with a comfortable and safe living space, Sotheara said.

Arakawa Residence has been well received, with around 90 per cent of the 1,680 units in Phase I having been sold.

According to Sotheara, all buildings in Phase I are complete, and customers are expected to move in by the end of next year. Phase II, meanwhile, will open by the end of 2021.

Residents will pay only a small monthly fee, Sotheara noted.

“These small payments make it seem like they are renting, but at some point it will become their property,” he said.

In 2014, Cambodia adopted a national policy to promote the development of housing projects. Cambodia will need an additional 50,000 homes a year until 2030, the policy states.