Building material import value increased 50 percent in 2019

The value of building materials imported into Cambodia to supply the construction sector increased by 50 percent in 2019 compared to the same period in 2018.

Figures from National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) shows that the total value of building material including construction equipment, cement and steel products was estimated at $1.5 billion in 2019. The value of building material imports in 2018 was about $1 billion.

The NBC said the construction sector was one of the main economic drivers for 2019 economic growth, which is estimated to reach 7.1 percent.  According to the NBC’s Macroeconomic and Banking for 2019 Report and 2020 Outlook, the import of building equipment was valued at nearly $1 billion, up from nearly $600 million in 2018.

Import of steel was valued at also up at an estimated $500 million, from $300 million in 2018, the report read.

The NBC stated that in 2019 cement imports were valued at over $100 million, up from about $90 million in 2018.

“The construction and real estate sector continues to grow which is reflected by a trend of increasing imports of building materials and approved construction projects,” the NBC said.

Construction projects totalled at 4,446 projects in 2019, a 55 percent increase compared with a year before, while investment amounted to US$9.3 billion, a 78 percent increase, according to report at the of Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction.

Chea Sophara, Minister of Land Management, Urban Planning, and Construction, said that the construction sector is because of sound economic growth. “The majority of the investment into Preah Sihanouk province is from China. The increase in the construction sector stems from the strong growth of the economy and political stability,” Sophara said in December. The NBC said in the 2020 outlook that Cambodia’s economy continues to show signs of robust growth in 2020 at 7 percent, underpinned by strong export, construction, and tourism.

because of construction sector growth in 2020, according to the NBC, the value of building material imports for the construction sector is projected at around $2,400 million. Currently, Cambodia has five cement factories which are able to produce 8 million tonnes a year.(This news came from Khmertimes.com)