The Special Investment Promotion Programme for Preah Sihanouk Province, launched on January 31, 2024, by Prime Minister Hun Manet, has mobilized $6.03 billion in investments from 215 projects as of last month.
This was disclosed to Khmer Times by Long Dimanche, Deputy Governor of Preah Sihanouk province, recently.
Launched mainly to address the issue of stalled construction projects in Sihanoukville, the programme attracted several investors, both foreign and local, and boosted the province’s economy, the Deputy Governor said.
Among the projects approved for incentives by the Investment Promotion Working Group for Preah Sihanouk, 102 focus on reviving stalled or incomplete constructions, attracting an investment of $2.5 billion.
Another 90 projects with a combined value of $2.69 billion are new building projects not related to the unfinished constructions. Additionally, 18 projects requiring the expansion or scaling up of the ongoing developments account for $800 million, while five other existing investment projects seeking incentives make up another $30.57 million.
“In total, the programme has mobilized $6.03 billion in investments to address stalled projects and encourage fresh developments. Sector-wise, real estate leads with 87 approved projects, followed by tourism with 60, industries, 34, services, 22, and other sectors, 12,” Dimanche said.
The programme covers four types of projects, such as those involving stranded building constructions, non-stranded buildings that can be operational in 2024, expansion projects and also other existing projects.
Incentives under the programme include exemption from income tax and minimum tax for an additional three years, exemption from value-added tax till the completion and improvement of stalled building constructions, five-year withholding tax exemption on real estate lease, exemption of property tax and the exemption of various administrative sanctions.
The move to solve the crisis created by the unfinished buildings, left mostly by Chinese investors, gathered momentum last year following criticism that they were an eyesore in the coastal city known for its tourism potential.
The government had also identified 362 stalled building constructions in Sihanoukville as of January 2024.
Meanwhile, the government is also considering the draft of a master plan for Preah Sihanouk and the three other coastal provinces to develop them as a multi-purpose special economic zone.
The master plan, drafted with the support of China’s Urban Planning and Design Institute of Shenzhen (UPDIS), aims to convert the coastal provinces into a major economic zone in Southeast Asia, empowered by smart technology, as well as an advanced industrial zone serving regional and global production chains.
Sihanoukville’s population is expected to go up to one million from the current 300,000 once the master plan is implemented.
Originally conceived for Preah Sihanouk and to convert the province in the model of the Chinese city Shenzhen, the master plan now intends to develop all coastal provinces into a multi-purpose and comprehensive economic corridor.
According to experts, the development of the SEZ is poised to play a key role in Cambodia’s recovery from the economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic as well.
The master plan, one of the key priorities of Cambodia’s Industrial Development Policy (IDP) 2015-2025, is expected to be a dynamic long-term planning document providing a conceptual layout to guide the future development of the provinces as one of the key economic poles, not just in the country but in the region as well.
