A $100 million affordable housing project in Kandal province's Takmao town will be completed by the end of this year, as the developer Worldbridge Homes Co Ltd shifts attention to other projects, according to its general manager Yuk Sothirith.
The development, the first of its kind in the Kingdom, broke ground early in 2017 on 23ha of land in Roka Khpos commune's Koh Kor village, just 14km south of the Monivong Bridge in the capital.
Formerly a commune in the province's Sa'ang district, Roka Khpos was incorporated into Takmao town after Prime Minister Hun Sen signed a sub-decree on January 8, 2019.
Sothirith told The Post on May 12 that the project is forging ahead, despite lockdown restrictions keeping some of the workers away. Around 400-500 labourers were on-site each day during the blockade.
"We will complete our construction soon, and now our sales have reached more than 95 per cent," he said.
According to Sothirith, the company has handed over 823 houses to customers, and the remaining 1,634 homes will be delivered by end-2021. Homes range in price from $25,000-$30,000.
Sothirith revealed that the development's success had motivated the company to invest in more such affordable housing projects. "We remain willing to continue to work with the government to invest in future affordable housing developments for sale to low- and middle-income people."
The company has identified an even larger location for a new project, he said, declining to give details or further comment.
Worldbridge Home Co Ltd is a subsidiary of the WorldBridge Group, and has developed other major projects in Phnom Penh, including The Bridge and The Peak.
Global Real Estate Association president Sam Soknoeun stressed that affordable housing is in high demand.
He said the capital's outer districts make ideal locations to develop more of these projects, which would provide access to affordable homes for their growing low- and middle-income populations.
But multifaceted government involvement is required to convince investors to get behind affordable housing projects, such as selling state land to private companies at below-market prices, he pointed out.
"There's demand from workers and students who've come to reside in Phnom Penh and its outskirts. It'd be fitting to have more such investments, which sell at low prices, to give them stability and their own accommodation,” Soknoeun said.
As of the end of 2020, Cambodia had five affordable housing development projects comprising a total of 8,331 units, according to the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction.
In 2014, Cambodia adopted a national policy to promote the development of housing projects. Cambodia will need an additional 50,000 homes a year until 2030, the policy states.
