Top 5 Challenges to Cause 364 Stagnant Buildings in Sihanoukville

Currently, there are 364 buildings stuck in Sihanoukville, which is a priority issue for the Royal Government of Cambodia to find ways to restore those buildings.

According to a report by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the stalemate is caused by five challenges that lead to a long-term solution.

These challenges include:

1. Dispute between building owner and landlord

2. Most construction projects do not have a construction permit, which leads to a lack of quality control.

3. Due to high property prices, landlords and building owners have to pay a lot of taxes.

4. Stuck project not yet built

5. Lack of additional investment capital to continue construction and implementation of the project.

The Royal Government has found that the delay in resolving the stuck buildings in Sihanoukville is due to the fact that most investors lack trust, resources, and skills in re-planning, especially in building relationships.

As a solution, the Royal Government of Cambodia, through the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Cambodia, has introduced tax exemptions, facilitated letters and allowed the private sector to set up funds for joint ventures and through the trust of the Ministry.

According to the data from September 2023, Sihanoukville province has a total of 965 construction projects, equal to 1,069 buildings. There are 341 suspended projects, equal to 364 buildings; 29 projects are under construction, which is equal to 53 buildings. Completed but not in operation: 161 projects of 177 buildings have been completed, and in progress, there are 434 projects proposing 475 buildings.

Long Dimanche, Deputy Governor and Officer-in-Charge of Stuck Buildings in Sihanoukville, said recently that the inter-ministerial working group has completed the identification of stagnant buildings, and we are currently working on organizing the Zooning of the buildings to be used for what parts, while in the past the team planned to organize the stuck buildings into 4 parts for different purposes.