OCIC Company, which is currently building Diamond Island City, has begun preparing the riverbanks around the island by filling stones into the river for the construction of a 555-metre tall tower, a building that would become the tallest in ASEAN.

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Mr. Touch Samnang, Managing Director of the Diamond Island City Project, told Post Property that it is now preparing the riverbanks before starting the construction of the 555-meter building, which will contain condominiums, hotels, restaurants and office space.

He said “We have already taken soil to the laboratory for experiments and found that this location can be built on, but the exact date for the start of this building construction has not been set yet.” Touch added that international experts were being brought in to help with surveying the site: “there are a lot of engineers from overseas coming to conduct the study. The construction of this building will cost $200 million”.

According to Mr. Meng Chamroeun, Section Manager of Diamond Island Project, the tower will enhance the beauty of the island, and will become a landmark building in Phnom Penh. But he couldn’t say when construction might start as “now the river banks are being expanded to the site we want to build on, because the building will be constructed in parallel with the Independence Monument and the Samdech Chuon Nat Statue.”

He added “from my point of view, this project cannot be constructed in a quick way, at least three or four years, because the company is hiring engineers from China to study the river banks.”

Mr. Sung Bonna, Director of Bunna Realty Group and Chairman of Cambodia Real Estate Valuation Association, said “if we are able to construct this building, it will be a good thing because this building represents the identity of this era.

Mr. Beng Hong Socheat Khemaro, spokesman for the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction, said if Cambodia is able to construct the building, it would be good in terms of attracting more investors, and it would show that Cambodia’s economy is moving forward and has the ability to construct a building valued at hundreds of millions of dollars.