More than 40 investment projects, totaling over $320 million, were approved by the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) in February, bringing the total number of investment projects approved by the CDC in the first two months of 2025 to 112, with a total investment of approximately $1 billion.

On March 11, the CDC announced that in February, it approved 44 projects with a total value of $321 million, which it expects to create 25,000 jobs. 23 are located inside the Kingdom’s special economic zones (SEZ). Compared to the same period in 2024, the number of approved projects has increased by 7.

“In the first two months of 2025, the CDC approved 112 projects with an estimated total investment of $1 billion. They will create more than 70,000 jobs. The number of projects has increased by 43 compared to the same period in 2024,” it said.

Some of the major projects approved last month include a solar-powered electricity plant in Teuk Phos district, Kampong Chhnang province, with an investment of $33 million; a metal processing plant in Kampot’s Chumkiri district, worth $31 million; the creation of a garment manufacturing and dyeing plant in Kampong Speu’s Kong Pisei district, $18 million; a metal and plastic tool factory in the Koh Kong Special Economic Zone, $22 million; and a factory producing furniture in Svay Rieng province’s GIGA SEZ, with an investment of $16.8 million.

Of the projects approved in February, 86.75% utilised Chinese capital, while 11.97% were from Singapore, 0.8% from Australia and 0.48% from the UK.

The majority of the 44 projects are located in Svay Rieng, Kampong Speu, Koh Kong, Phnom Penh, Takeo, Preah Sihanouk and Kampong Chhnang provinces. 

Of the $321 million in total investment, $288 million is in the industrial sector, with the rest allocated to infrastructure and other sectors.

In 2024, the CDC approved 414 investment projects, an increase of 54% (146 projects) over 2023. The total investment value was about $6.9 billion, a 40% increase from the $4.92 billion seen in 2023.