Data from the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) show that it approved a total of 41 investment projects worth more than $1 billion from September until mid-November.
The approved projects include hotels, garment factories, electrical appliance factories, cosmetics, furniture, beverage, pharmaceutical, plywood manufacturing plants, power plants and agro-industrial crops.
The projects are mostly located in Phnom Penh and Preah Sihanouk, Kandal and Kampong Speu provinces.
Emerging Markets Consulting senior consultant Ngeth Chou welcomed the move.
However, he argued that the government must also set rules regarding the use of local resources to benefit locals.
“It is good that the CDC has approved a lot of investment projects, but the government also needs to require some conditions to make those investments more beneficial to Cambodians,” he said.
Chou cited as an example Chinese-own real estate investment projects in Cambodia that exclusively use imported raw materials and manpower.
“Using local material and human resources is very important because it will help increase income and reduce manpower migration to work abroad,” he said.
According to CDC data, the 41 projects have the potential to create 31,255 jobs.
The Post tried to reach Chea Vuthy, deputy secretary-general of the Cambodian Investment Board for comment, but he was not contactable.
Although there is no data for comparison, Supreme National Economic Council senior adviser Mey Kalyan believes the number of projects approved during the period is fair.
“What we should pay attention to is what the plans for the investments are. Diversification of investment is absolutely essential for economic development,” Kalyan said.
Chou said that the government also has to closely monitor the projects to ensure their progress.
“I worry that some projects exist in name only and never really physically manifest,” he said.
