The Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction announced that it is drafting a new prakas, or edict, in an attempt to reinforce regulations in Cambodia’s construction sector.

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The ministry is drawing up the new construction law with the assistance of local architects, engineers and international lawmakers, Lao Tip Seiha, construction department director at the Ministry of Land Management Urban Planning and Construction said.  

“The law will strengthen the construction sector and provide an improved living environment for potential customers,” he said, adding that it will also provide more transparency and attract investors to the market.

The proposed prakas will complement the Ministry of Economy and Finance’s Housing Development Law, which, among other requirements, obligates developers to deposit 2 per cent of the total value of the project. It is slated for implementation in the third quarter of 2012.

The drafting of the law was overseen by members of Singapore-based group PEMASEK, which has previous experience drawing up similar edicts in the city state, according to Beng Hong Socheat, spokesman for the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction. He added, however, that a completion date for the draft has yet to be set.

While the sector has experienced reasonable recovery from the economic downturn, some victims were claimed, such as the South Korean-funded Gold Tower 42 and Camko City, which both stand incomplete.

Some members of the sector, however, questioned the significance of another development-related prakas.

“What worries us is that the laws from different ministries will start to overlap. It requires prior consultation, so the same cake isn’t baked twice,” Sung Bonna, president of the National Valuers Association of Cambodia.

He added that an increase in the number of regulators would help to minimise bad practice in the sector.