A2A Town Cambodia has decided to invest $20 million in villas at the VKirirom Pine Resort in Phnom Srouch district, Kampong Speu province.

Hin Socheath, head of the business department at A2A Town Cambodia, said on Tuesday that the project started last year, with 40 villas for visitors to choose from. The first stage of the project saw the company sell 20% of the property, with 40% of the buyers coming from Cambodia and 60% coming from Japan.

Each of the villas sits on 110 square meters and is a perfect place for leisure thanks to amenities including 3 bedrooms, a dining room, a living room, a kitchen, bathrooms and a rooftop garden.

Customers can rent the units back to the company with an approximate annual income of $6,000 to $7,000 for a period of between 2 and 10 years. The company offers a free stay every weekend and many other benefits.

“When the second stage will start is yet to be determined, as we are still studying the actual market since the housing market isn’t doing so well now,” Hin said.

“We also have R2 villas, a smaller-sized house for vocational visits which are about 36 square meters per house. This type of villa is a perfect choice for couples or small families who wish to relax away from the busy cities.”

These weekend villas consist of a bathroom, a living room, a dining room and a kitchen. The cool weather at the top of the Kirirom mountains provides a fun environment. The V-type villas are 45-square-meter luxury private units surrounded by greenery with a front yard and back yard garden.

The interior of the homes are equipped with high-end, modern equipment in the dining room, the kitchen and the bedrooms. The busy life people have in cities is forgotten when visiting V-Kirirom Pine Resort.

Those choosing to rent their properties are allowed to either sell them or continue renting them after 10 years. The Kirirom Technology Institute is nearby, so the property is ideal for those looking to pass land down to their children.

The company has also invested in T2-type villas, which are green units in the city that offer a new living experience and a co-working space to reduce expenses, save energy and exchange experience as well as knowledge. Each of the villas sits on 560 square meters of land while the villa itself is about 200 square meters. Each villa has 13 bedrooms, 6 toilets and 2 floors.

Chrek Soknim, CEO of Century21 Mekong, said the investment in leisure homes is the kind of thing Cambodia needed more of as more of the country’s citizens gain access to some amount of wealth. In order to sustain the property market, he said, investors had to diversify their projects and focus more on satellite cities. Kirirom is a very forgiving location with great weather, and its only downside is the distance from Phnom Penh, he added.

Tang Hour, CEO of Amatak Property Service, said that this type of investment is good, but it may be hard to fill the development in Cambodia because “our lifestyle isn’t the same as foreigners, therefore it will take a bit more time to succeed.”

“This type of project is good for retired foreigners who wish to come to Cambodia to enjoy living in a good and quiet environment, but not yet for Cambodians,” she said. “For me, however, I’m interested in this type of project.”