THE first phase of the 260-hectare Grand Phnom Penh International City is set to be finished next year, an official told the Post this week following an inspection Monday by the Ministry of Land Management.

Estate Manager Nhem Sothea said the first of seven proposed phases at the satellite city was 70 percent completed.

He said that 200 units of a total 510 had been sold, though he acknowledged that sales were behind target, which he put down to the slowdown in the property market.

"We recognise that our sales declined ... but customers bought around 10 units in each of April and May at prices," he said.

The visit was part of an ongoing program to boost confidence in Cambodia's property sector among developers and potential buyers - in a report late last month, the UN Development Programme said that "over 30 percent of construction projects may have been placed on hold due to the global downturn".