Chinese construction in Cambodia’s ‘next tourism hotspot’, Kampot, has residents and NGOs worried

[CEOCambodiaNews]

Chinese construction in Cambodia’s ‘next tourism hotspot’, Kampot, has residents and NGOs worried
The once sleepy riverside town of Kampot seems set to become Cambodia’s next tourist hotspot
Land prices are rising, construction work on a 42-storey entertainment complex has started in its colonial-era heart, and a national park is being cleared

Marissa Carruthers
Published: 9:15am, 9 Jan, 2021

Pen Sokunthea escaped the bustle of the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, for the sleepy riverside town of Kampot two years ago, drawn by its tranquil charm and laid-back pace of life.

“I’m not a big city girl,” says Pen, who runs a cafe on the outskirts of the town 150km (90 miles) south of Phnom Penh, close to the coast. “I much prefer the peace and quiet, and Kampot is perfect for that.”

However, big changes are coming to the town, which is set to become Cambodia’s next tourism hotspot. As investment opportunities and development plans are unveiled, fears have been raised that Kampot’s tranquillity may be shattered.

In the town’s colonial heart, construction has already started on a twin-tower development that rises above a quaint stretch of buildings lining the once peaceful riverfront. In January 2020, bulldozers rolled in and have been working from morning to night ever since, digging the foundations for the 42-storey project backed by Chinese investors.

Slated to house shopping malls, entertainment centres, condominiums and restaurants, the development will be the tallest in Cambodia outside Phnom Penh.

Meanwhile, a tourism port is slated to start welcoming visitors in 2022, Chinese investors are being invited to snap up land around Kampot, and swathes of Bokor National Park are being razed to develop satellite cities on the mountain slopes.

“I worry that Kampot is about to change a lot,” says resident and street food vendor Chan Seyha. “We’ve seen what has happened in Sihanoukville and we don’t want that here.”

Recent years have seen heavy Chinese investment in the coastal town of Sihanoukville, as the former backpacker enclave has been transformed by casinos, hotels and other businesses catering to visitors from China. According to the latest figures from the Council for the Development of Cambodia, China remains Cambodia’s leading foreign direct investor, pumping more than US$5.3 billion into the country between 2013 and 2017.

As land prices in Sihanoukville continue to climb, eyes are turning elsewhere, and Kampot is ticking all the boxes. In March, Kampot provincial governor Cheav Tay met Chinese investors studying opportunities in the tourism, industrial and agriculture sectors, as a swathe of development gets under way across the rural province.

Ross Wheble, country head of international property consultancy Knight Frank, notes that land prices in prime locations in Kampot have risen during the past 18 months. He says several factors are driving this increased demand.

“Its natural beauty and picturesque scenery, its proximity to Phnom Penh and growing popularity with domestic tourists, as well as numerous infrastructure projects including the tourism port, the widening and improvement of National Road 3, the huge investment in Bokor Mountain as well as the construction of a deep-sea port and a Special Economic Zone, to name a few,” he says.

Development of Kampot province’s US$8 million tourism port is predicted to greatly increase the number of visitors to the area. As part of the Kampot Provincial Tourism Department’s master plan, the seaport will cater to passengers from the nearby Vietnamese island of Phu Quoc, some Thai destinations and Cambodia’s islands in the Gulf of Thailand. The port will be able to welcome vessels carrying up to 400 passengers.

An Asian Development Bank (ADB) report on tourism in the Greater Mekong Subregion predicts the seaport will service 360,000 international and domestic tourists annually once it opens in early 2022. The port is being funded by an ADB loan.

The provincial tourism department says the seaport will help it hit its target of attracting 2.5 million tourists to Kampot by 2023.
Full article: https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-l ... pot-kampot

[Clutch Cargo]

42 stories in Kampot? That will stand out like....

Spoiler:

dog's balls

[truffledog]

a new playgound for basta?

[atst]

a 42 story building thats exactly what all the residents in sleepy Kampot have been petitioning the government for. I bet they are all excited about the new shopping experience about to be built for them.
whats up with Chinese aren't they happy stuffing up thier own country

Spoiler:

Locus is a good description

[CEOCambodiaNews]

There's more on this thread that was started in 2019.
general-chatter/topic29364.html

[Clutch Cargo]

I imagine land owners looking to rent or sell will be..



with glee. Bring it on they will say..

[Clutch Cargo]

Classic post from the related thread:

A 42 twin tower in the heart of Kampot will look as out of place and welcome as a bucket of turds in a swimming pool!

[jaynewcastle]

Once there are another dozen or so 30-40 story buildings around it, it won't look too much out of place I guess

[whatwat]

This “news” is at least 6 months old. Utter tosh.

[AndyKK]

This “news” is at least 6 months old. Utter tosh.

It's not a copy of the speed that the Chinese moved on Sihanoukville, nicked named an invasion, Kampot is getting a pace fitting of the area, slow and laid back, but it's coming, that of a soft takeover, later in the year I would expect to see a big change.
So, too with Siam Reap, the government has learned since Sihanoukville and started laying road's in advance. How the country will look in 2025 will more than likely look like a mass Chinese suburb.