Representatives of Borey Kuch Asia say the company has injected millions of dollars into an apartment and villa complex in Sihanoukville, and that the project will be completed in 2017, despite political uncertainties.

Borey Kuch Asia project manager Tous Sapheoun said the company spent two years working on blueprints between 2005 and 2007, when it cleared the land in preparation for development for what will be a decade-long project.

Meanwhile, the company has already completed the first and second phases of the project, and the third phase is under way, according to Sapheoun.

“The first and second phases comprise 400 apartments, 38 villas, a market and a 19-floor hotel, which is still under construction,” he said.

Sapheoun said that the first phase sold well, and that 90 per cent of the villas were occupied, while half of the second phase of development had already sold out. The prices of condominiums start at $120,000 and villas start at $200,000,

he added.

Borey Kuch Asia occupies a total of 61.94 hectares in Mittapheap district, Sihanoukville city, and is centrally located not far from Sihanoukville’s three main beaches – Sokha Beach, Independence Beach and Ocherteal Beach.

“We’re not too concerned about marketing. People value our project because we’re focused on high standards, quality, beauty and we’re the biggest property development in Sihanoukville, and close to all the most popular destinations,” he said, adding that most of project’s buyers came from Phnom Penh.

With population growth and the Kingdom’s booming economy driving development at a rapid pace, Sapheoun said he strongly believes in the project’s future prospects.

“This area has a lot of potential, which is attracting many people, and it’s the best area to develop in Sihanoukville, which is also means it’s a good investment,” he said.

However, not everyone in the industry is so optimistic about the prospects for development in what they refer to as “frontier provinces”.

Manager of Real Estate VMC, Dith Channa, said that building or developing immovable property for sale in outside Phnom Penh, particularly in Sihanoukville, had yet to be proven a success, and faced challenges largely due to the lower population density.

But he noted that developments aimed at the tourism sector were more likely to be successful because tourism was the cornerstone of the Sihanoukville economy.

“When investing in areas with possible potential, investors need to be flexible and put some work into finding out what they can about the areas, if they want to succeed,” Channa said.

Po Eavkong, general manager of Asia Real Estate Company, said some local investors were observing the political situation in Cambodia as home sale in some Boreys was not like before the national election.

According to government data, the Ministry Of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction approved 1,641 projects covering a total area of 7.5 million square metres, and a total value of $2.8 billion in 2013, or an increase of 31 per cent year-on-year.