Cambodia sees big jump in construction investment in first quarter

 

PHNOM PENH (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's construction sector received a total investment of 851 million U.S. dollars in the first three months of 2014, up 311 percent compared with 207 million U.S. dollars over the same period last year, the official figures showed Thursday.

During the January-March period this year, the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction provided licenses to 50 construction projects, up 39 percent from 36 projects over the same period last year.

Construction projects included condominiums, residential units, commercial buildings, hotels, and factories.

Land Management Ministry spokesman Beng Hong Socheat Khemro attributed the remarkable growth to the country's economic and political stability and favorable business climate for investors. "Even though political dispute has not been settled since the general elections in July last year, but investment in construction is still on the rise thanks to investors' confidence in the current government," he said.

Top 10 countries and regions investing in the country's real estate and construction are South Korea, China, Britain, Thailand, Russia, Japan, Malaysia, China's Taiwan, India and Vietnam.

Construction is one of the four pillars supporting the economy. The sector attracted the investment of 2.77 billion U.S. dollars last year.