Cambodian construction industry expo attracts dozens of Chinese exhibitors

The Cambodia-International Construction Industry Expo 2019, the kingdom’s largest annual event of its kind, kicked off here on Thursday, attracting dozens of Chinese exhibitors.

Held at the Diamond Island Exhibition Center, the three-day expo brought together 207 companies from countries across the world, and dozens of the exhibitors came from China, said Pung Kheav Se, chairman of the Cambodia Constructors Association.

“The companies are displaying almost 1,000 types of their construction industry-related products at the event,” he said at the expo’s opening ceremony, adding that the event would facilitate constructors and customers in looking for quality products.

Cambodian Minister of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction Chea Sophara said the expo was a venue for companies to showcase their products and to seek business partners.

He said the construction sector is one of the four pillars supporting the kingdom’s economy and that the sector attracted a total investment of 8.7 billion U.S. dollars in the first 11 months of 2019, up 67 percent over the same period last year.

He added that currently, 1,081 construction companies, including 485 foreign developers, are operating in the country.

“The rapid development in the construction industry truly reflects investors’ confidence in Cambodia’s political stability and macroeconomic stability,” said Sophara, who is also a deputy prime minister.

Speaking at the event, Xu Ningning, executive president of China-ASEAN Business Council, said in recent years, Cambodia has been stepping up its infrastructure construction projects, and the demand for construction equipment and materials has been on the rise.

He said China ranked the top foreign investor in Cambodia’s construction sector, highlighting that their investments had importantly contributed to Cambodia’s socio-economic development.

“I believe that with the joint efforts of all parties concerned, China-Cambodia economic and trade cooperation will reap mutually beneficial and win-win results and achieve joint development,” he said.

Xu said to improve quality and efficiency of China-Cambodia cooperation in construction and related industries, the two countries should jointly implement the ASEAN-China Joint Statement on Synergizing the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025 and the Belt and Road Initiative as well as the ASEAN-China Leaders’ Statement on Smart City Cooperation Initiative that the leaders of ASEAN and China announced in November.

Andy Wang, sales manager of Chongqing Mexin Best Doors & Windows Industry Co., Ltd, said the company took part in the expo because it conducted a survey project last year in southwestern Cambodia’s Sihanoukville and found that the demand for doors, wardrobes and cupboards for hotel buildings was high.

“This is our first time to attend this fair, and we have brought many items such as wooden doors, wooden fire proof doors, wardrobes and cupboards to display at the event,” he told Xinhua.

“Cambodia now is a fast-growing country, and we see so many projects started these years and we found that there is a huge demand for building materials, especially wooden doors, cupboards and wardrobes for hotel buildings,” he said.

Editor: John Li