The road to the Bokor Mountain National Park. Photo supplied
The government has decided to develop Bokor National Park into a futuristic and historic tourism city, a sub-decree on the introduction of the master plan for Bokor town’s development said.
The area will be connected to the Kingdom’s southern coastal tourism corridor.
The project will develop the Bokor area into a smart city which will serve as a historical preservation site, with commercial and residential zones, according to the sub-decree.
Land in the development blueprint is divided into nine zones, including residential, commercial, multi-use, transport, tourism, public administration, public space, green space, cultural and religious, and technical infrastructure.
The sub-decree was signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen on June 28 and obtained by The Post on Monday.
Seng Lot, a spokesman for the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction, which oversees the project, declined to comment on Monday.
Kampot provincial governor Cheav Tay said after the contents of the project’s master plan are official, buildings and infrastructure will be constructed in Bokor National Park as part of the first phase.
“In the future, buildings will be constructed. People will come to live in them and then we will have an administrative area,” he said.
The Bokor National Park covers 154,454ha of land, of which the project will cover 27,943ha, said the sub-decree.
Tay said the project does not cover the land of tycoon Sok Kong’s Sokha Hotel.
Ministry of Tourism spokesman Top Sopheak told The Post that the development project will contribute to promoting Cambodia’s tourism sector.
“Where there is development, there will be new infrastructure development such as lodgings and hotels. Kampot town lacks accommodations, so it needs to further develop,” he said.
The development plan can be adjusted every five years in response to the Kingdom’s socio-economic development, the sub-decree said.
The plan’s vision is to orient sustainable development in response to current and future population growth, land-use demand and housing development.
It guarantees the protection of land resources, underground resources, ecosystems, environment and other natural resources, especially the conservation of regional history.
Kim Heang, the regional operating principal at real-estate franchise Keller Williams Cambodia, previously told The Post that town development on Bokor Mountain would be positive for the real estate and tourism sectors.
“[The Bokor Town Development Project] will boost land prices in the area. People in the vicinity will have more business and will benefit from tourism. Bokor Mountain is already associated with tourism,” he said.
