Amid unprecedented delays, disruptions and uncertainty in the construction sector set on by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Arakawa Residence project, an affordable housing development project, is moving faster.
Ieng Sotheara, a co-founder of the project’s developer Arakawa Co Ltd, said this on Wednesday.
The Arakawa Residence is built on 1.36ha in Teuk Thla commune in Phnom Penh’s western Sen Sok district and divided into two phases.
Phase I consists of 10 21-storey buildings comprising 1,680 units, while Phase II consists of six buildings comprising 1,280 units.
The units range in size starting from 23sqm, with prices ranging between $28,500 and $65,000, Sotheara said in February.
He told The Post on Wednesday that his company’s operations are gaining steam after it doubled its workforce from pre-Covid-19 levels.
He attributed the heightened momentum to two main factors – sufficient financial resources and the increased availability of workforce due to closures of competing construction sites.
“The company is set to complete the project on schedule with high standards,” said Sotheara.
There are currently around 2,000 workers at the Arakawa Residence site, he said.
Phase I is nearly complete and its units are scheduled to be handed over to residents by the end of the year, he said. The Phase II buildings currently stand two storeys tall.
In a bid to inspire consumer confidence, Arakawa promised to build them homes that meet Japanese standards of quality, he said.
All Phase I units have been sold, while Phase II units will be put up for sale in the fourth quarter of the year, he added. “Although Phase II units are not yet for sale, many people have already contacted the company’s agents.”
Keller Williams (KW) Sen Sok regional operation principal Sam Soknoeun told The Post that Arakawa Residence attributed its success to being the capital’s first affordable condominium projects, built in compliance with Japanese standards.
He noted that its proximity to the city centre and costs within the reach of low and middle income buyers have attracted many potential clients.
Such homes are in high demand, especially from locals, he said. “This is the best project for middle income people. Such projects will be more marketable in the next five years.”
In 2014, Cambodia adopted a national policy to promote the development of housing projects. Cambodia will need an additional 50,000 homes a year through 2030, the policy states.
Data from the Ministry of Economy and Finance show that the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction issued construction permits to 1,647 projects in the first four months of the year – up 15.66 per cent from 1,424 in the year-ago period – worth $3.049 billion, up 20.5 per cent year-on-year.
