Bokor town plans unveiled

[frank lee bent]

The government has unveiled plans to develop a new town in the Bokor Mountain area, an inter-ministerial meeting last Friday said.

Minister of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction Chea Sophara led the meeting to develop a master plan for the development project, located in Kampot province’s Teuk Chhou district, some 42km from Kampot town.

The ministry’s spokesperson could not be reached for further details of the plan on Wednesday. However, Kampot provincial governor Cheav Tay, who attended the meeting, told The Post on Wednesday that it is a land development project involving the creation of a new town.

“The project involves the development of land on Bokor Mountain. Should any new town need to be established, we have already allocated land for that,” he said.

A post on the ministry’s official Facebook page said the meeting was also attended by Minister of Tourism Thong Khon, Minister of Environment Say Sam Al and Preah Sihanouk provincial governor Yun Min – who has since resigned in the wake of the recent fatal building collapse in Sihanoukville.

Tay said the project involves about 150,000ha on Bokor Mountain.

In May 2012, the government granted 18,987ha of land at the Bokor resort to Sokimex Investment Group Co Ltd to develop hotels and casinos.

Cambodian Valuers and Estate Agents Association president Kim Heang said if there is a town development on Bokor Mountain, it would be positive for the real estate and tourism sector.


for five straight years, from 2013 to 2017, China was Cambodia’s largest foreign direct investor with investment capital of $5.3 billion – about $1 billion annually – according to the Council for the Development of Cambodia.

https://phnompenhpost.com/business/boko ... s-unveiled

[Anchor Moy]

When I was up on Bokor years ago - when the casino was first planned, but construction had not started - there was the funniest little model town laid out in a building for visitors to see. This was to be the future Bokor. We died laughing at the sight of all these little suburbs, with rows of houses and gardens neatly lined up; some of the (model) houses even had swimming pools if I remember right.

At the time, we wondered if the planners were on acid, because Bokor was still a desolate misty wasteland with a few old picturesque ruins, with few visitors outside of weekends; it was so unCambodian and the Chinese were still off the radar. Who would go and live up there ? It was like something out of Wuthering Heights.

Well, so much for me and my friends. He who laughs first (that was us), obviously has no fking idea of what a change 10 years can bring and what the Chinese can do.

[Anchor Moy]

Ok, I found the photos.
Bokor Mountain 2012




Correction. They had already started the destruction. It must be the last time I went up Bokor that we saw the town plan, so it was in 2012, and the casino was constructed and probably open, but there was almost nobody around.The rest of the hilltop was still quite a magic place and the idea of a suburban city planted there seemed insane.

Empty casino


The model of Bokor City



It was obviously a plan for a full-scale city with residential areas. That was what we really couldn't conceive at the time. A casino and a few hotels seemed possible, but not this.
Wish I'd taken more close-ups of the model now, but quite a lot of the urban space looked like this bit below.

And maybe I was imagining the swimming pools, but there are definitely tree-lined streets and parks with lakes.

[SternAAlbifrons]

If it is 42k from Kampot town, and in Tuek Chhou district, it could only be located in two places;

a/ Right up in the middle of the jungle mountain tops. Or,
b/ On that strip of flatland that lies between Hwy 4 and the western side of Bokor mountain.

The Ministers for Tourism, and for Environment were at the announcement, but I cannot see a large town being built for chinese residents/eco-tourists right up in the mountains, 40k's from the coast.
The costs would be high, and the attractions would soon wear thin.

Maybe more likely on the flatlands. It looks like preparations for subdivision is already well under way there. Also, already a few fair sized manufacturing operations have set up not far away.
My guess is that it will be a new manufacturing hub. Cheap land, close to the port, and outside of Phnom Penh.

[SternAAlbifrons]

Hey AM, I just saw your photo's,
Wow, maybe they are going to do it up on top.

The site you are talking about is exactly 42 k's from Kampot by road too.
(I did my previous calculations "as the crow flies")

But what is going to be the economic basis of such a large town, and for it's residents?
Eco-tourist casinos ??

[newkidontheblock]

Former PRC prisoners who have served their labor time in Cambodia, but deemed too undesirable to be allowed to return back to mainland China?

Perfect colonists for the future PRC colonization of Cambodia.

A bit tongue in cheek, admittedly.

[Anchor Moy]

It all looks a bit fancy for convicts NKOTB. One guess is that it will be for families of Chinese working on the port and in the new SEZ at Kampot. Much cooler up there for them.

[CEOCambodiaNews]

Cambodia unveils plan for Bokor Mountain resort
VNA Friday, August 30, 2019
Hanoi (VNA) - Cambodia on August 29 unveiled a master-plan to develop the Bokor Mountain resort, located in the coastal province of Kampot, into a new city.

Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction Chea Sophara said the government issued a sub-decree on the establishment of the Bokor City development project in late June, aiming to build the zone into a new city by 2035.

The master-plan showed that the project will cover a 9,000-hectare portion of the Bokor Mountain resort and the development will include residential area, commercial zone, multi-purpose development area, physical infrastructure, eco-tourism, administration and public service zone, green spaces, and water storage facilities, among others.

Investors and common people are encouraged to buy pieces of land within the project for development purposes, said.

He added that the area is the best for both development and natural resources preservation.

Ly Rasmey, Deputy Director General of the ministry’s General Department of Construction, said the project is situated about 42 km west of the provincial town of Kampot, and 180 km southwest of Phnom Penh.

The project aims to turn the area into a smart and green city and as the top eco-tourism site in Cambodia's mountainous areas, he said.
https://en.vietnamplus.vn/cambodia-unve ... 159724.vnp

[kgbagent]

recently .... new gateway about 1km down the hill from the top control gates. New guesthouse and the smaller building is a small hospital or medical centre - usually an ambulance or two stationed outside

[kgbagent]

At the top of the road up - by the control gates and the roundabout