A local subsidiary of a Malaysian development company has begun selling and leasing lots in the BSJ Industrial Park, a 59-hectare development on National Route 4, 15 km southwest of Ponchentong Airport, officials said Saturday.
As required by Cambodian law, 51 percent of the company, BSJ Land and General Ltd, is owned by a Cambodian citizen. The Malaysian partners declined Saturday to identify the investor, saying it would be an invasion of the person’s privacy.
“That information is on file at the Commerce Ministry, and you can come and look,’’ Khek Ravy, secretary of state for the commerce ministry, told reporters at a press conference at the Hotel-Intercontinental.
“But I can tell you it is just a normal person, not a high official. I checked before I accepted the invitation’’ to help announce the development, he said.
He also said the land being developed by BSJ had been privately held and was not former government land.
The new park, about 24 km from Phnom Penh, offers 82 lots, ranging in size from one-quarter hectare to nearly 5 hectares. About 10 percent of the land is already under agreement, the developers said.
The developers are providing roads, street lights and drainage, as well as financing. Cambodian-controlled corporations will be able to purchase lots, while foreign-owned firms can sign 70-year leases, said Raymond See, company director.
He said plans for water and power are not yet complete, but tests have indicated plenty of ground water is present. One lot has been set aside for a park generating plant.
BSJ is also planning to begin manufacturing building materials later this year, due to unreasonably high prices in Cambodia, See said. Cheaper materials should lower construction costs, he said.
Khek Ravy said the government welcomes the industrial park as a “good model’’ for other investors.