Chip Mong Industries, a subsidiary of the Chip Mong Group, launched a roof tiles and pipes factory on Friday, stating their intention to take advantage of the growing demand in Cambodia’s booming construction sector.

The new factory, located on 11ha of land in Phnom Penh’s Dangkor district, is capable of producing 140 sheets of tiles a minute, while the pipe factory has the capacity to produce 500 tonnes of pipes a month.

The company said the factory was built to reduce Cambodia’s dependence on imported products.

‘Promoting an image’

Chip Mong Group Chairman Leang Khun said the launch of the factory is another instance of the company reducing poverty in Cambodia through job creation, reducing migration and boosting the Kingdom’s national economic growth.

“We are promoting an image of Cambodia as one evolving from its past as a primarily agricultural country to the industrialised nation it is becoming today."

“We hope the factories will reduce imports of construction materials from abroad and help boost national economic growth,” he said.

Minister of Industry and Handicrafts Cham Prasidh said at the plant’s launch that it was the latest example of the important contribution the private sector is making towards achieving Cambodia’s goal of becoming an upper-middle-income country by 2030 and a high-income one by 2050.

“These factories are evidence of the important role the private sector will play in the fruitful implementation of the government’s 2015-2025 Industrial Development Policy,” he said.

Prasidh said businesses such as the Chip Mong Group, an organisation creating products and services across various fields, were vital in creating job opportunities and high quality and affordable locally produced goods for Cambodians.

Sothirith Yuk, General Manager of Worldbridge Homes Co Ltd, a developer of affordable homes in Kandal province’s Sa’ang district, welcomed the news.

“The creation of a local factory will provide abundant investors and consumers. Previously, most of the materials we used were imported but if we can produce locally it will help Cambodia’s construction sector progress faster."

“I am optimistic that if our local products are properly monitored, the quality and standard will be acceptable,” he said.

In February, the Chip Mong Group also launched a cement factory in Kampot province’s Banteay Meas district in a joint venture with Siam Cement Group PLC, worth a total of $262 million.