Cambodia Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in cambodia, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Construction, Architecture, and Engineering
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Overview

Cambodia is in the process of rehabilitating and expanding its infrastructure, principally with assistance from international donors. Given the current poor condition of the country’s infrastructure, construction and engineering services will be in high demand for the foreseeable future. Public works and transportation, including the national road network, are a high priority for the Cambodian government. Infrastructure investment is generally state-led and mostly financed by foreign assistance grants and loans. In addition to infrastructure construction, Cambodia has witnessed a major boom in residential and commercial construction before the Covid 19 pandemic. Numerous residential and commercial development projects were developed including mixed-use towers, shopping malls, and suburban commercial-residential developments, and high-rise condominium units which mostly cater to foreign buyers. Ongoing global uncertainty has severely impacted development projects for both landed and high-rise building p

Starting in 2017, the coastal Sihanoukville province received billions of dollars of Chinese investment for high-rise buildings, the majority of which stalled when the Cambodian government banned online gambling in 2019 followed by the Covid-19 pandemic. To address the challenges of unfinished buildings with either no investors or investor-landlord conflicts and restore development of the city, the government created a special program in January 2024 to introduce measures to facilitate and incentivize investment and business activities in the province including providing tax exemptions, waiving the public services fee for land use permits, streamlining procedures for construction permits, facilitating investor matching services, and providing benchmark prices for real estate. As of August 2025, around 380 building projects which include both existing and new projects have benefited from the program. The government in April 2025 announced the extension of the program until end of 2028 to ensure more invest

Cambodia adopted a Trust Law in 2018 (promulgated in 2019) to allow investors to own or transfer landed property via a regulated trust mechanism.

In an effort to digitalize public services and facilitate business operations, the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning, and Construction (MLMUPC) launched an online portal (https://realestate-service-business.rpr.gov.kh) on June 3, 2025 to allow applicants to renew real estate service licenses, professional certificates, and other business licenses online.

MLMUPC is drafting a new land law which will include articles requiring landowners to be a Cambodian citizen, clarifying tax payment obligations, detailing co-ownership rights, and promoting the development of a digital cadastral system.

Leading Sub-sectors

The Chinese government, Japanese government, World Bank, and Asian Development Bank are the most active in road, bridge, and railway construction in Cambodia. The Cambodian government has also offered Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) concessions to several foreign companies to rehabilitate portions of Cambodia’s underdeveloped national highway system.

With an aim to attract more international tourists, Cambodia officially opened the new Techo International Airport (KTI) outside Phnom Penh on September 9, 2025, the Siem Reap Angkor International Airport (SAI) in October 2023, and the currently domestic-only Dara Sakor Airport in Koh Kong province in April 2025.

Cambodia opened its first expressway – a $2 billion Chinese funded and built project connecting capital city Phnom Penh to coastal Sihanoukville – in late 2022. Other major infrastructure projects are in the planning process, including an expressway connecting Phnom Penh to the Vietnam border and an expressway and high-speed railway system linking Phnom Penh to the Thailand border.

The establishment of several special economic zones (SEZs) presents significant opportunities for development of power, water, and road infrastructure within these areas. Intended to attract manufacturing and export-oriented companies, SEZs are located near the borders of Thailand and Vietnam and in Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville, and Kampot.

The main sources of foreign expertise and construction materials for large commercial and residential projects are China, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, and Singapore; however, high quality American materials and fixtures are sought by urbanites and foreign residents in Cambodia.

Opportunities

Prospects exist in road and commercial construction working with international donors and private companies. Construction materials and heavy construction machinery are also needed to support this sector.

  • Resources

  • Ministry of Public Works and Transport

  • Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning, and Construction

  • Council for the Development of Cambodia

  • Cambodia Construction Association