Construction of the long-awaited $70 million two-phased Arakawa Residence affordable housing development is on track to be completed by mid-2022, developer Arakawa Co Ltd co-founder Ieng Sotheara told The Post on December 9.
According to him, construction of Phase I is 90 per cent complete and Phase II 30 per cent.
The Arakawa Residence is built on 1.36ha in Teuk Thla commune in Phnom Penh’s western Sen Sok district, he said.
Phase I consists of 10 buildings comprising 1,680 units, while Phase II consists of six buildings comprising 1,484 units, up from the originally planned 1,280 based on perceived market demand for the smaller studio units, he said. All 16 buildings will be 21-storeys tall.
With more than 1,000 workers toiling day and night, Sotheara said only interior decoration and cleaning remain for Phase I before buyers can move in tentatively in February.
The Phase II structures have been built to the seventh floor (eight storeys including the ground floor) and are on pace to be completed by June next year, with full project construction slated to be finished a year later.
With location and prices propping up sales, Sotheara said Phase I units were completely sold out while some 20 per cent of Phase II ones had been bought.
“Comparing the price of Arakawa Residence units with the costs of land, construction and labour, it is not possible for others to invest in a similar project of this calibre at this time.
“Arakawa Residence is an affordable project built on quality standards,” Sotheara said.
Sales executive Mao Virak on December 9 said sales had fallen slightly after the first community transmission was detected on November 28.
The units fall into two categories, 23sqm studio and 46sqm two-bedroom, which sell for $30,500 and $62,000, he said.
Ann Sothida, the managing director of CBRE Cambodia, the local affiliate of US commercial real estate services and investment firm CBRE Group Inc, said Arakawa Residence owes its success to its prices and location, where few properties are available at comparable prices.
“The market for affordable condos like this will only pick up steam going forward, just not in locations such as this, they’ll need to be further away [from the city centre]”, she said.
As of the end of last year, Cambodia had five affordable housing projects – two in the capital, two in Kandal province and one in Banteay Meanchey province – comprising 8,331 landed units and 7,256 strata units, the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction reported.
