THE total value of approved investment projects in Cambodia has risen 51 percent in the first 11 months of this year, compared to the same period of 2009, according to figures from the Council for the Development of Cambodia.

The CDC approved 84 investment projects worth US$2.45 billion between January and November, a 51 percent increase on the 81 projects approved in the same period last year that had a total value of $1.62 billion.

CDC officials said the increase was in part because of increasing capital being earmarked for industry, services, and agriculture sectors. Duy Thou, deputy secretary general of CDC, highlighted the South Korean venture that aims to build a new airport in Siem Reap province yesterday, which has flagged costs of nearly $1 billion.

“This shows the confidence of investors on Cambodia’s actual [economic] situation. We hope that this will continue, especially in agro-industry sector and rice production,” he said.

Based on a sector-by-sector breakdown, agriculture remained a leading industry for investors’ money, though approvals were on par with 2009 figures.

Chheng Kinlong, professor at the University of Cambodia, said yesterday that investment in agriculture, industry and services was very important, because the sectors were the backbone of Cambodia’s future development.

“We hope that the three sectors can reabsorb the labour which they had previously lost,” he said.

A country breakdown reveals changes from last year, with South Korea named the leading investor in 2010 so far, with a total promised capital of $1.02 billion – helped by the airport plan. China was the second largest with a total capital of $685.97 million. Malaysia was third with $171.8 million, while Vietnam was fourth with $114.7 million.

In 2009, China topped the table with $348.1 million.