Shorten Buildings or We Will, City Hall Tells Two Developers
The Phnom Penh municipal government will today issue announcements to two property developers ordering them to partially demolish buildings near the Royal Palace in order to reduce their height to comply with the original planning agreements, an official said. The two buildings—one owned by Vattanac Properties on riverside’s Sisowath Quay and the other a privately owned apartment block on an alley off Street 19 behind the Royal University of Fine Arts—are in violation of restrictions imposed by the authorities to limit the height of buildings in the vicinity of the Royal Palace, municipal spokesman Long Dimanche said Sunday. … Sin Kim Heng, the owner of the apartment block on Street 19 that is near completion, expressed dismay Sunday that he will be forced by the government to demolish part of the building—news of which he has still only heard in the local media. … “I feel like I have died since I received the information that my building faces demolition because I got loans of more than $3 million to pay for its construction and need to make money from the apartments to pay back the loans,” he said. … Mr. Kim Heng freely admitted that he exceeded the approved 24.5-meter height of his building by 10 meters, but said he specifically did so after Prime Minister Hun Sen announced that he had gotten rid of longstanding height restrictions around the palace when last year he extolled developers to construct higher buildings in the area.
Aun Pheap and Simon Henderson
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/shorten-buildings-or-we-will-city-hall-tells-two-developers-45510/
