Analyst: How long will the land sector in Sihanoukville continue to have potential?

• Me Wathana
• 20 December 2018
• Local News
• 1588 Views

Commercial buildings, casinos, hotels, restaurants and apartments are quickly developing and changing the landscape of the southern part of Cambodia, and more so in the very near future. These commercial construction activities have made Sihanoukville an important destination for domestic and foreign investors to capitalise on this potential through developing new projects.

This recent rapid development had caused a huge jump in land prices in the province at a rate few could imagine before. But how long can this specific market continue to show great potential?

On this question, real estate analyst and founder of Key Real Estate, Mr Sorn Seap shared his opinion, based on research as well as his long experience in the industry.

He believes that the sector will continue to have long-term potential, as Sihanoukville is a diversified area, and development into a modern city will take long time.

“In general, to build a nice city, maybe like Phuket in Thailand, can take a long time, and for the province [Sihanoukville] it will have great potential for at least 20 to 30 years ahead”, said Mr Seap.

On the other hand, Sihanoukville has many advantages that are beneficial for investment such as a sea port; diverse factories, tourist sites, and a highway which is expected to start construction soon; all of which all are key factors for doing businesses.

In fact, through his past business networking, Mr Seap said that many domestic and foreign investors prefer to invest in Sihanoukville, rather than in potentially competitive provinces like Siem Reap.

In addition, investing in the land sector in Sihanoukville poses more potential, given that,despite land prices of land rising sharply, it is still lower than in other provinces such as Siem Reap.

According to a land price evaluation report by Key Real Estate, land prices in Sihanoukville province have an average of US$3,000 per square metre for locations along major roads in Sangkat 04, such as on Independence St. This rate is relatively low compared to an average of US$5,500 per square metre for expensive Zone A in Siem Reap province.