Tuol Kork district has been showing its potential through infrastructure development, and is changing from a residential into a commercial area, according to property experts.

Sung Bonna, director of Bonna Realty Group and president of Cambodian Valuers and Estate Agents Association, said Tuol Kork is well-known as a place for rich and high ranking officials to live.

Moreover, Tuol Kork will become a more central area because it is located in the middle of the old Phnom Penh and new satellite cities such as Camko and Grand Phnom Penh city, a process that will push land prices higher. They have already risen between 15 to 20 per cent in 2012 compared to last year.

“This location has a very high potential now. It is different from the last few years that there was not much infrastructure and poor utilities,” said Bonna. “Previously there were many slums in this area, but now it is becoming a developing location with a better and more attractive environment,” he said.

Bonna said land prices in commercial areas of Tuol Kork range from $800 to $1,500 per square metre, and in residential areas range from $600 to $1,000.

Cheng Kheng, director of the CPL Real Estate Company, is more optimistic. He says land prices in commercial areas range from $3,000 to $4,500 per square metre and in residential areas from $1,500 to $2,500.

“The potential in those areas is showing clearly through the number of condo and apartment developments, the increase in commercial activities, and the fact that foreigners living in Boeung Keng Kang I are moving to Tuol Kork,” he added.

“The rental for an apartment in Boeung Keng Kang I with one bedroom is between $1,000 to $2,000 per month, while an apartment in Tuol Kork with three bedrooms costs only $1,300 to $1,500 per month. That’s why people rent apartments in Tuol Kork,” he said.

Sen Chanreatrey, chief executive of CEA Real Estate Company said Tuol Kork will be likely replace Boeung Keng Kang I in the future because it has wider roads and is better ordered, and there are more multiple services buildings such as international hospitals, international schools, and restaurants in the area.

“In the next five years, Tuol Kork will replace Boeung Keng Kang I, because in Boeung Keng Kang I there are not many land plots on sale. I cannot find land for my customers,” he said, adding that in less than five years, land prices will rise from $2,000 to $3,000 per square metre.

Now land costs between $1,600 to $1,800 per square metre in commercial areas, and from $700 to $1,000 per square metre in residential areas.

Dith Channa, director of VMC Real Estate, said Tuol Kork has also its challenges, such as heavy traffic congestion in every street of the area.

If the Phnom Penh Municipality could build two or three new roads to access the area, Tuol Kork would have even a greater potential, he added.

To contact the reporter on this story: Siv Meng at [email protected]