PROPERTY developer Hong Lai Huat Group will design, build and operate a mixed-use agricultural hub in Cambodia, with a total land size of about 10,000 hectares, estimated to be about one-seventh the size of Singapore.

The mainboard-listed group has received official approval from the Cambodian government to convert its existing agricultural land in Aoral District, Kampong Speu Province, into a mixed-use development.

Hong Lai Huat, which expects the development to add new revenue sources for the group, said the hub will set out the roadmap for the future growth of its real-estate division in the country.

It also hopes to attract more foreign direct investments into Cambodia and create jobs for locals, said group general manager and executive director Ong Jia Jing. "This investment will fuel the long-term growth of the group for many years to come," he added.

The hub will be developed in phases, with the first to begin in Q4 2021, the real estate firm said in a filing on Wednesday night. Under the first phase, it will start the infrastructure upgrading works, such as the internal road networks, electrical cables and water supply.

The development is expected to include zones for value-added food-processing factories, warehousing facilities and a logistics hub, renewable energy, livestock farms, construction materials, plantations, aquaponics, water treatment treatments, as well as commercial and community-living concepts.

Source from: Fiona Lam(2021). Hong Lai Huat to Develop Mega Agricultural Hub in Cambodia. Retrieved from: Business Times, Companies & Markets(June 16, 2021). https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/hong-lai-huat-to-develop-mega-agricultural-hub-in-cambodia