Construction workers on a high-rise building construction site in the capital's Sen Sok district. Hong Menea
In a bid to keep the Kingdom’s construction sector afloat, the Housing Development Association of Cambodia (HDAC) has made two proposals to the government.
It suggested that current property laws be changed, in order to allow foreigners to purchase houses in borey projects, and also called for the government to provide financial support for property developers.
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Ly Hour, HDAC president, met with Deputy Prime Minister Say Samal, Minister of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction for an October 23 ‘emergency meeting’, according to an October 24 social media post by the association.
It explained that the meeting was held to discuss the current challenges the construction sector is facing, and explore the possibility of financial support for developers, alongside legal changes that would give foreigners the legal right to purchase houses and land in boreys.
The HDAC said that during the meeting, Say Samal said the urban planning ministry has prepared a number of proposals and policies to support the construction sector, and has submitted them to the government.
The association added that in the past, several countries in the region and around the world, including China, have put policies in place to help revive the construction industry, or other sectors. The construction sector is a large and important part of the Kingdom’s economy, it continued.
Chrek Soknim, president of the Cambodian Valuers and Estate Agents Association (CVEA), believed that the government – and the domestic private sector – should improve the investment climate and encourage more incentives to attract foreign direct investment, especially in the construction and real estate markets.
He said on October 25 that additional external investments may also help the sector, so the government should make legal reforms and introduce mechanisms that allow foreigners to own or invest in real estate.
“In my personal opinion, the government should provide opportunities to bring large sources of capital to the Kingdom. This could include giving more locals and foreigners the opportunity to invest in Cambodia, and increased access to loans to invest in their projects,” he added.
According to a report from the National Bank of Cambodia, as of the first half of 2023, the total amount of loans across the economy was 238.7 trillion riel ($57.6 billion).
Loans in the real estate sector totalled 19.6 trillion riel ($4.7 billion), an increase of 16 per cent on the same period in 2022. Loans in the construction sector clocked in at 18.3 trillion riel (4.4 billion), an increase of 9.2 per cent.
