GOVERNMENT officials are due to visit the NagaWorld construction site in Phnom Penh today as part of an ongoing program to boost confidence in Cambodia's property sector among developers and potential buyers.

Lao Tip Seiha, the director of the Department of Construction under the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction, said officials planned to visit two construction sites a month.

"The visits are intended to strengthen cooperation and persuade foreign investors in the construction sector to push ahead and feel confident in their projects," he said.

The delegation, led by land management Secretary of State Phoeung Sophoan, had previously given the green light to  Yon Woo's Gold Tower 42 project, World City's 119-hectare  Camko City development, and the Overseas Cambodian Investment Corporation's Canadia Tower.

No doubt on De Castle

On Monday, the delegation visited the 32-storey De Castle Royal condominium building being built by Korean developer Nuri D&C on a 2,926-square-metre site in Phnom Penh's Chamkarmon district.

Phoeung Sophoan told Prime Location during the site inspection he was confident the De Castle project was progressing according to plan. "Despite the crisis and real estate downturn, construction is still well under way and we hope that it will be completed within its scheduled timeframe," he said.

Jang Jung Hee, general manager of De Castle Royal's marketing department, said the economic downturn had not knocked the company off its stride.

"Of course, now Cambodia's real estate market is very quiet -there have been no buyers since the crisis - but we expect that their will be a recovery from the third quarter of this year," he said.

He added that 65 percent of the tower's 392 residential units had already been sold, but that the sales had all been made before the global financial crisis kicked in last year.

"Despite the crisis, construction is still on track with the original master plan because we have a contract with our customers so we have to keep our promise and complete the project by the deadline," he said.

The $50 million development is scheduled to be completed by June 2011.