Suburban luxury villa complex in Kandal province is expected to finish by 2010, with a sister complex also under way

LOCAL developer K-Properties Co said Tuesday that construction is nearing completion on a new luxury villa complex in Kandal province despite the ongoing impact of the global financial crisis on Cambodia's development sector.

The multimillion-dollar project, Tropicana Residence in Kandal's Kien Svay district, includes 35 villas in a mixed-use residential and leisure complex on the outskirts of the capital, a company official said.

"We have invested about $4 million, and construction is nearly 90 percent complete," said Hang Naroth, K-Properties project manager, adding that early sales were promising and that construction was expected to wrap up in 2010.

Heng Naroth said there's steady demand for upscale suburban residences, particularly among people working for private companies in Phnom Penh and among government officials.

Tropicana's villas sell for between $100,000 and $180,000, and the 3-hectare complex includes a swimming pool, park, restaurant and convenience store, Heng Naroth said.

A second project, Tropicana Garden, is also in the works in Sen Sok district, with construction only partially complete and sales feeling the strain of the declining global economy.

"We have finished about 10 percent of the construction and have sold 10 percent of the units," Heng Naroth said, adding that a slowing economy has affected sales.

"Now, we're building only the units that have been purchased. We will build more as we find new buyers."