Chinese-owned Prince Culture and Development Co Ltd officially launched the $85 million Prince Manor entertainment centre in Kandal province on Wednesday.

Prince Manor is located along National Road 1, 20km from the centre of Phnom Penh. It is the first major theme park project in Cambodia and covers 13ha.

Prince Manor is described by its owners as an international eco-resort that offers visitors a relaxing vacation with beautiful scenery, family recreation and tourism features, including colourful flower gardens, an amusement park, lodges and a canteen.

Prince Manor has an 88m-high Ferris wheel, a 1ha water park and an ecological plant park.

Prince Holding Group Managing Director Cliff Koh said the park is the vision of the chairman of Prince Group and an integral part of the company’s overall strategy to develop the culture and tourism sector in Cambodia.

“We are in line with the strategy of the Cambodian government. While private investors are typically concerned about large investment sizes and long payback periods in the tourism sector, Prince has always regarded the development of Cambodia’s tourism industry as a key objective and fully supports its development,” he said.

Prime Minister Hun Sen, who presided over the inauguration, said the resort is a source of pride for Cambodia.

“Today we have a resort to create an entertaining atmosphere for our people. One might ask, why during Covid-19 and the decline of the tourism sector did we open an entertainment centre? The tourism issue is not just about international tourism, but also it local tourists,” he said.

Hun Sen said almost two million Cambodians traveled abroad before Covid-19 but now have the opportunity to visit their own country.

“This is a shift in tourism destinations – from abroad to local – so we need to strive to make the provinces more attractive for domestic tourism,” he said.

According to Hun Sen, 1.6 million Cambodians travelled over the New Year holiday in August and more than 1.1 million during Pchum Ben.