Phnom Penh Projects delayed...

Following up on the previous post on the construction boom in Phnom Penh and the risk of the city losing its charm, there were some interesting articles in the local press.

One described the French colonial houses in Phnom Penh as important cultural heritage that should be preserved. Now, many people agree with that but probably new is that authorities now do too. With the most important one Phnom Penh Governor Kep Chuktema who said the city is stepping up efforts to preserve these buildings.

Remember, I was suggesting some of the mega construction projects in the city would probably be put on hold, or even suspended completely? Well, that's already happening: Camko City (on the northwest of Phnom Penh) will not undertake any new construction. In other words: only Phase 1 will be finished, leaving an incomplete planned city. What will the effect of that be on the value of buildings in Phase 1? Will the buyers complain that they don't get what was promised?

Other projects:
- Construction of a 45-storey condominium tower overlooking the Tonle Sap has been delayed;
- Construction of five 25-storey residential towers on the Chruoy Changvar peninsula have not started as planned;
- The developer behind Gold Tower 42 says the project will go on as scheduled, although they still have to sell units. In this market and at this time? Housing sales in Cambodia have fallen about 50 percent over the last year. And, interestingly enough, the website of the construction company, Yon Woo Inc., is unavailable... By the way, the ONLY information you'll find about this Yon Woo Inc. is related to building the Gold Tower 42, nothing else...

It's just waiting for the housing bubble in Cambodia to collapse. And what will happen then, especially to those people who took loans to finance their purchase (esp. in CamKo city but probably also in Gold Tower 42).