VATTANAK Bank plans to launch construction of a US$100 million headquarters on Monivong Boulevard next week, said one of the bank's key investors on Tuesday.

Construction is scheduled to finish in 2011, said Chhun Leang, the mother of Sam Ang Vattanak, Vattanak's executive director who is out of the country.

The 33-storey, 8,000 square-metre-headquarters opposite the railway station will also contain space for rent as offices or retail, she said.

Pa Socheat Vong, deputy governor of Phnom Penh, told the Post on Tuesday that the new building is good for the city, but warned that it will bring more traffic jams if it does not comply with architectural plans.

The capital is experiencing an unprecedented building boom that includes another massive bank headquarters - the Canadia Bank skyscraper, also on Monivong Boulevard.

"It shows the progress in the banking sector," said Pa Socheat Vong.