This article first appeared in City & Country, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on March 4, 2024 - March 10, 2024

Those who have been to Phnom Penh in the past would find a visit to the capital of Cambodia today gives a different perspective of the city.

Phnom Penh was bustling with new developments during a media tour that City & Country took last month. The south of Kandal province is undergoing a transformation brought on by catalyst projects such as the Monivong-Hun Sen-Boulevard flyover and the Techo Takhmao International Airport.

Such progress augurs well for Singapore-based developer Sir Stamford Raffles Group (SSRG), whose Marum Estate township is located not too far from the upcoming airport. After officially launching the development in the Cambodian market on Jan 31, 2024, SSRG is gearing for regional launches in the next six months.

Marum Estate covers 22.6ha of freehold land and will consist of 642 landed residences with six types of units: Greenwood Residences (1,463 sq ft, 3-bedroom); Orchard Residences 

1 and 2 (1,959 sq ft, 4-bedroom); Sanctuary Residences (2,647 sq ft, 5-bedroom); Reserve Residences 2 (3,713 sq ft, 6-bedroom); and Reserve Residences 1 (4,488 sq ft, 8-bedroom). The selling price starts from US$190,000 (RM907,535).

The township’s commercial components, located in the middle of the development, will comprise Marum Square (a retail area with 259 shophouses), a community club, an 80,000 sq ft hospital called Marum Hospital (built in partnership with Parkway Cancer Centre and Khema International Polyclinic) and a school that can house 750 students in one session (built in partnership with Methodist School of Cambodia).

It will be developed in two phases, with construction of the first phase to commence in 2Q2024. The entire township is currently undergoing earthwork and infrastructure work. The township is expected to be completed by 2030.

The developer aims to sell 80% to 90% of the units to affluent Cambodian buyers and the remaining 10% to 20% to international buyers.

Marum Estate is accessible via Ring Road 2, Ring Road 3, National Road 2, National Road 3 and Kur Srov Circle. Amenities in the vicinity include shopping malls such as Aeon Mall Mean Chey and Chip Mong 271 Mega Mall; leisure attractions such as Tonle Bati Resort, Phnom Tamao Zoo and Amazon Resort; as well as schools such as Advance International School and American English School.

The layouts of the units were designed with the Cambodian lifestyle and cultural needs in mind, hence the units’ spaciousness, which allows flexibility to cater for multigenerational living.

SSRG co-founder and group co-CEO Phebe Len says: “When we first came up with the design and briefed the architects, we wanted to convey the concept of tropical modernism, which is contemporary design nestled in a botanical environment with lots of natural air and light.

“Cambodians have a very strong sense of belonging and family culture. Many prefer to have their parents or grandparents nearby or within the same space. To be in tune with the cultural and lifestyle needs here, we have to be aware that many look for bigger and more open spaces with the flexibility to configure the rooms.

“Our units are versatile. We have a dedicated en-suite room on the ground floor that can be turned into a karaoke room, party room, study room, baby room or place for the elderly. The first and second floors are more for the younger people.”

When it was looking to acquire land, the developer surveyed several locations in Phnom Penh, particularly on the north side of the city.

“There was a period when it looked like the north would be the place for catalytic projects. We were looking at 8ha and 12ha land,” SSRG co-founder and group co-CEO Ng Aung San shares.

“The north was already quite developed. The prices are on the high side and it is more industrial. There’s more traffic and more human population but, knowing what we wanted to do, the north was not [right for our project],” Len adds.

SSRG kept its options open and continued looking at locations until it acquired the 22.6ha plot in Kandal province in 2017.

“At the time, we only heard murmurs [of catalytic projects] in the south,” says Ng.

“After taking the plunge [choosing Kandal], we started seeing the proposed airport come to fruition and in double-quick fashion. While that happens, the roads, such as the flyover and the ring roads, have to keep up. We started seeing a snowball effect [in the area]. There are more government initiatives coming to invest and, looking at it now, it is the most obvious thing to have planted our seed in the south. But, at one point, it was not clear.”

The Techo Takhmao International Airport is set for completion in 2025 and will replace the Phnom Penh International Airport. The Monivong-Hun Sen flyover will be completed in 2025, which will enhance connectivity in the province.

What lies ahead for SSRG? While it continues to look for further opportunities, its top priority is to deliver on its promise of completing Marum Estate.

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