Eurocham Forum Touches on Building and Real Estate Sectors

• 31 December 2015
• Local News
• 1306 Views

Various topics related to the construction, property, and tourism industries were discussed at the Real Estate and Construction Forum organised by the European Chamber of Commerce (Eurocham) in Phnom Penh on 1 October.

The one-day seminar brought together over 200 senior professionals from the real estate, construction, banking, and law sectors, together with government officials in a number of panel discussions.

In the real estate and construction panel discussion chaired by the Eurocham Real Estate and Construction Committee (RECC), experts in the sector like Simon Griffiths, CBRE Senior Manager; Christophe Bourdon, Optima Consultants Managing Director; and Guillaume Massin, DFDL Managing Director for Cambodia, shared their respective insights.

Talk also extended to the Urban Planning and Land Management angle where H.E. Dr. Pen Sophal, Secretary of State for Land Management Urban Planning and Construction; Philippe Buisson of Buisson & Associés; Bernard Cazin of Bués Associés and Michel Cassagnes, Archetype Architectural Design Director shared their respective expertise on the Kingdom’s current urban and spatial planning, and land management issues.

Discussions also centered on landmark developments in Cambodia. While Charles Vann, Executive Vice President OCIC/Canadia Bank, presented OCIC’s landmark developments and Canadia’s sophisticated financial services to serve the real estate sector, Hong Kong Land Cambodia Country Manager David Tibbott touched on the latest landmark development project. Morten Kvammen, Managing Partner of M-INVEST a company that deals with property leasing, also elaborated on his connection to landmark building projects. Eric Y.H. Ooi, Knight Frank Chairman shared the firm’s latest market review in Cambodia, asserting the need for real estate training.

On issues relating to sustainable tourism development, speakers like Phillipe Buisson of Buisson & Associés, Bernard Cazin of Bués Associés; Seth Hoeger of Song Saa Private Island; Arnaud Darc of CCFC President, Etienne Chenevier of City Star, and Vincent Morand of DFDL Myanmar discussed challenges and issues relevant to the industry.

Simon Griffiths of CBRE, Oknha Rithy Sear of Oxley World Bridge, who co-develops “The Bridge condominium”, and Andrew Ahn of De Castle Royal’s Developer Nuri D&C shared thoughts on co-ownership and condominium developments in the country.

On the topic of construction code/standards, Dr. Huy Nara, General Director of the Ministry of Land Management Urban Planning and Construction’s General Department of Construction released the latest updates on the use of different codes, and the drafting process of the nation’s long-awaited construction law. Nasir Milki, VINCI’s Quality and Environment Manager; Archetype’s Michel Casssagnes; and Denis Astgen of Comin Khmere, alerted audiences to the safety issues at construction works from design steps to the building process, to post-building processes like the use of elevators.

EuroCham Cambodia was inaugurated on 2 June, 2011 to promote the interests of European businesses operating in Cambodia, facilitating the entry of European companies into the market, and creating an extensive support network among corporate and individual members alike.