Kandal province to issue a master plan for Muk Kampul district
Kandal province to issue a master plan for Muk Kampul district
With the aim of ensuring stability and organisation for development, Kandal Province’s Department of Urban Planning and Construction (DUPC) has decided to create a master plan for the fast-growing Muk Kampul district, a district north of Phnom Penh that follows the Mekong River along National Road 6.
Dr Vann Varth, Deputy Chairman of the DUPC said last week that following a proposal from Muk Kampul district to create a master plan, Kandal Provincial Hall has partnered with the department to issue such a plan, in the hope that land use and construction will be in accordance with it, to avoid any future problems.
“The master plan in Muk Kampul district will be drawn up with a detailed land-usage plan for each commune, so that we can be certain as to where to build a bridge, how big a road should be in certain places, where the commercial areas are, or where the agricultural areas are, and so on,” Vann said.
Muk Kampul has seven communes, 39 villages, and a total population of 70,477 people. The master plan will be finished in three or four years. This plan will be created using Kandal’s three-year-rolling budget.
According to Varth, Muk Kampul district is growing fast due to the government’s expansion of National Road 6 and its proximity to central Phnom Penh, and he added that without a master plan, the construction would be done without any organization.
“Phnom Penh City is a horrid example of this because development had happened before the issuance of a master plan, which has led to traffic jams, unorganized constructions, and narrow street systems, etc,” he said.
He added that Kandal is not just drawing up a master plan for Muk Kampul district. It has issued master plans for Takmao City and S’ang district. Furthermore, it is also making master plans for Leuk Daek district and Koh Thom district – a district that has been beleaguered with border disputes with Vietnam which led to a directive by Hun Sen late last year that halted all land trading or leasing in a bid to maintain Cambodia’s “national sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
Koh Thom district shares approximately a 30-kilometre border with Vietnam.
Kim Heang, president of the Cambodian Valuers and Estate Agents Association, said that land prices in Muk Kampul increased by 20 per cent last year due to the launching of the second Chroy Changvar Bridge on National Road 6, and the presence of the Borey Peng Houth development, Mekong Royal, and the Borey The Flora development. The price of land along National Road 6 rose from between $70-$80 to $100.
“The issuance of a master plan for Muk Kampul district will let investors know where to invest. When the master plan is ready, they will know where to build markets, or factories,” said Heang.
“Having a master plan will attract investors to this area, further driving land prices upward,” he added.
