Three Chinese companies have unveiled a satellite city project in Svay Rieng province. This is another new project for Chinese investors in Cambodia and follows a series of announcements of similarly large projects.
Despite this, a representative of the Bavet municipal authority said he had never received information regarding any satellite city project in Bavet until now.
The companies – Empire State City, Bauing and CFMA – have agreed to build a satellite city in Bavet on 803ha, according to the Cambodia News English (CNE) website.
Nonetheless, Bavet town governor Seng Seila told The Post he had not received any official information or documentation on the development plans for the satellite city in Bavet.
“Despite being a representative of the local authorities, I have not received any official documents relating to the satellite city development project in Bavet as of now,” he said.
Despite the authorities claiming they are unaware of the project, circulation of the news of these investments has been pushing up land prices in Bavet in the last few months.
The president of the Cambodian Valuers and Estate Agents Association (CVEA) Kim Heang said land prices in Bavet have shot up rapidly in the last three to four months, with some areas doubling or tripling in price since the end of the second quarter of 2018.
“The price of land in Bavet is growing as fast as it is now because everyone rushed here when they heard there would be a big project,” he said.
Kim Heang said land near casinos cost about $1,000 per square metre, while residential land costs more than $100. Fields that used to cost between $10 and $15 per square metre at the end of the second quarter now cost between $40 and $50.
A representative of Empire World City said the satellite city will begin construction by the end of this year and will be divided into three phases.
The first phase will be built on 50ha and will include casinos, hotels, houses, recreational places, commercial centres, and sports facilities, according to CNE.
Projects that do not offer as high a return for investment will take between five and 15 years to complete.
Kim Heang remarked that in 2006, a Malaysian company said it planned to develop a satellite city on a 1,000ha plot, but nothing came out of that announcement.
Many major Chinese development projects have been announced in Cambodia such as the $1 billion Wisney World project in Preah Sihanouk province, a $1.2 billion “Tourist vacation city” located in Koh Kong province and the $1 billion TCC Triumph project in Phnom Penh.
