The value of land in Battambang town in the first six months of 2013 increased slightly, according to a survey by a local real estate company.

According to the survey conducted recently by Key Real Estate Co Ltd, the land price in Battambang town increased on average by about 13 per cent in the first half of the year compared to the same period last year, Sorn Seap, the General Manager of Key Real Estate Co, Ltd, said.

The same study also found that land in the middle of the town called Zone A along the main road in the first half of 2012 sold for between US$1,000 to $1,500 per square metre. It has now has increased from $1,200 to $1,800, while land along the smaller roads which had been worth from $700 to $900 last year, was up to $800 to $1,000.

The study also found that land in Zone B along the main road is worth between $300 and $700 and along the smaller roads costs between $150 and $200. Land in Zone C along the main streets is now valued at between $200 and $400 per square metre and along the smaller roads is worth from $100 to $300.

The land in Zone D next to National Road 5 costs from $1,200 to $1,800 and in the north land along the smaller roads cost between $50 and $200 per square metre. Zone E’s main street is valued from $500 to $900 and on the smaller roads is from $100 to $200.

Zone F is worth between $100 and $150 and along the smaller roads is from $30 to $60 per square metre.

“Previously, they considered Phnom Penh as the number one with high land prices and number two was Siem Reap, number three was Preah Sihanouk and number four was Battambang, but now that is not true,” Sorn Seab said.

“Battambang is a province with a very high potential and people also have high standards of living.”

Although people in Battambang are mostly thought to have better living conditions than in many other parts of the country, the big construction projects and the housing developments of Borey seem to have been less successful.

Until now, the plans for building a new Borey have not been available, while the existing projects have not been completed, Prach Chan, Battambang’s provincial governor, said. The price and housing value is increasing slowly, he added.

Battambang town is one of the oldest in Cambodia, comprising many ancient buildings that have been there since the area was under the control of Thailand and the French.

Now, Battambang town has a population of more than 140,000 people with 10 communes.