Public lot on riverside eyed for major project

Plans appear to be in the works to develop a central stretch of prime riverfront real estate currently owned by a state-run enterprise into a sprawling commercial development, according to sources involved with the landowner, though key government officials professed to be in the dark as to the nature of the deal.

The 9.25 hectares of riverside land, stretching from the Night Market to the Chroy Changvar Bridge on the east side of Sisowath Quay, was reclassified from state-public to state-private land in a sub-decree signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen last month. A large portion of the land – independently estimated to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars – is currently occupied by the state-run Phnom Penh Autonomous Port (PPAP).

The new designation opens up the plot to be sold or leased to a private company for development.

Profits from the sale of the land could end up in the hands of the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), which owns 80 percent of PPAP’s shares, according to the Cambodia Stock Exchange. A representative of real estate firm Century 21 Mekong has estimated the value of the land at $4,000 to $6,000 per square metre, which would make the stretch of reclassified land worth between $350 million and $550 million.https://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/public-lot-riverside-eyed-major-project