Work begins on mega resort in Cambodia

Construction began yesterday on the Sokha Hotel Group’s 600-room luxury resort in Siem Reap – right next door to Angkor Wat.

Named the Sokha Siem Reap Resort, the resort will be built within the City of Culture and Tourism of Angkor Hotel Zone, a 1,000-hectare area next to Angkor Wat allocated for luxury development and designed to reduce the burden of mass hotel growth within city limits, according to the APSARA Authority website.

Last year, Siem Reap welcomed more than 2 million foreign tourists – an increase of about 10% from 2012, according to data from the Ministry of Tourism.

So Mara, a secretary of state at the ministry, said that the resort would be an economic boon for a province already on the up.

“I think it will attract a lot of tourists when it starts to open, and we expect the number of visitors to Siem Reap will continue to rise,” he said.

Mara added that the new resort would also prove to be a rich source of much-needed local jobs.

The new mega resort marks the company’s 6th major tourism construction development in the Kingdom, Sokha Hotel Group’s Heng said.