A CANADIAN company plans to invest in a new factory in Cambodia which will produce plastic paneling to be used in a revolutionary type of synthetic housing to be sold thoughout South-East Asia.

The Royal Plastic Housing Group (RPH) is currently searching for local partners for the $30-$40 million investment in the new plant from which distribution of the plastic houses to Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and within Cambodia would take place.

The plastic houses consist of extruded panels of reinforced polymer composite for both interior and exterior walls and the roof.

The houses are assembled by connecting the plastic panels together using a minimal amount of cement and the process can be done within three days, according to an RPH press release.

Jean-Alain Bisaillon, who has the exclusive rights to distribute the RPH housing in South-East Asia, will come to Cambodia in mid October with two engineers to look for local partners who are interested in the project.

According to the press release, Bisaillon said: "Cambodia will be [the production center] for the next revolution in the housing industry, an industry that is always growing because the need is immense in the region."

The production center, which will be capable of making 12,500 houses per year each 40 meters square in area, will employ 800 people and indirectly generate 3000 jobs, according to the RPH press release.

The synthetic houses are extremely convenient for tropical countries because the plastic is fire resistant and does not rot, warp or require painting, according to a senior RPH executive.

He added: "The houses are earthquake-proof, hurricane-proof and even bullet-proof, they will last 200 years."

The houses will be sold for $7000-$8000 and could be used by the government for public buildings but are also suitable for private housing, according to RPH documents.

RPH also intends to demonstrate the ingenuousness of the product to the Royal government by donating to them two plastic houses in early November.

In 1993 RPH sold more than 150,000 plastic houses in countries such as Romania (100,000 houses), Pakistan (24,000 houses), and Columbia (6,000). The company has an annual turnover of over $700 million, according to RPH documents.