A technical feasibility study of the Phnom
Penh-Bavet Expressway project is progressing smoothly, setting high hopes among
real estate insiders that the new route would underpin the potential of Bavet
town’s burgeoning real estate market.
The update was revealed at a meeting between
representatives of Beijing-based China Railway International Group Co Ltd,
which is conducting the study, and the leadership of the Ministry of Public
Works and Transport.
Ministry secretary of state So Victor, who
chaired the meeting, noted that the study highlighted “three road options” that
the ministry and government must thoroughly assess.
The company’s financial analysis report that is
due in mid-October will be used as a basis for the decision, he said without
elaborating further.
Real estate investment agency Khmer Foundation
Appraisals Co Ltd president and CEO Noun Rithy told The Post on Wednesday that
the high-speed road would not only improve the transport sector, but also the
real estate market, especially in Bavet town.
Bavet is Svay Rieng province’s number two urban
centre and shares a border with Vietnam’s Tay Ninh and Long An provinces.
It comprises five communes – Bati, Bavet, Chrak
M’tes, Prasat, Prey Angkunh – that are further divided into 35 administrative
villages, and has emerged as a centre for development projects such as casinos,
hotels, restaurants and special economic zones.
Rithy said the infrastructure system is closely
tied to the real estate market. More roads translate to more traffic and a
greater number of people living and doing business along them.
He said: “The additional construction of new
roads, especially highways, augurs well for the real estate sector, especially
in Bavet, which could become an important hub between Cambodia and Vietnam.”
He said real estate currently sells for under
$1,000 per sqm at Bavet’s prime locations and for $5 in remote agricultural
areas.
Meanwhile, Global Real Estate Association
president Sam Soknoeun claimed that the expressway would bring the momentum of
the town’s real estate on par with Sihanoukville’s today.
“Given that Bavet is at the terminus of the
road, its real estate market is set to quickly balloon,” he said.
He cautioned, however, that everything hinges
on government policy centred on wooing more investors to investment areas.
In a bid to speed up construction of the
expressway, Prime Minister Hun Sen on July 15 set up a 17-member
inter-ministerial committee to oversee the project, with transport minister Sun
Chanthol as head.
A prior feasibility study conducted by the
Japanese government’s overseas aid body Japan International Cooperation Agency
(Jica) said the road would be 135km long, spanning Kandal, Prey Veng and Svay
Rieng provinces, and ending at the Bavet-Moc Bai Border Gate.
With a projected cost of more than $2 billion,
Jica deemed the project “too expensive”.