MEF Minister: 99-year economic land concessions to be cut to 50 years

• 17 June 2020
• Property Focus
• 10829 Views

State-owned lands granted to private companies as economic land concessions (ELC) for periods of 99 years, 90 years or 70 years must be reduced to 50 years, according to H.E Aun Pornmoniroth, Minister of Economics and Finance (MEF) in a meeting on the Draft Law on the Management, Use and Organisation of State assets on 16 June 2020.

To date, MEF has reviewed the lease terms of 64 companies among a total of 231 companies, to reduce the lease periods from more than 50 years to no more than 50 years in accordance with the draft law, said H.E Aun Porn Moniroth, Minister of Economy and Finance in an answer to Mr Pich Sros, from the Delegation of the Cambodian Youth Party of the Supreme Council for Consultations.

H.E Aun Porn Moniroth continued that currently in Cambodia, there are 231 private companies leasing a total of 1.1 million hectares lands from the state.

“So far, the rent from the state is US$5 per hectare and the state only charges for lands that the companies have already cleared up. But now, the government requires that the company that rents land from the state must pay the rent depending on the size of the rented land,” H.E added Porn Moniroth.

“The Draft Law on the Management, Use and Organization of State assets is for the government to manage and organise state assets including land, buildings and all state-owned properties which have to be complied with on a clear principle,” said Meas Soksensan, Spokesman of MEF in an interview with Construction & Property Magazine on 17 June 2020.

“So far, we have applied them with existing ad hoc sub-decrees and Prakas. Now, we want to issue a bill to manage all state assets with a systematic and clear mechanism…and all ministries will implement it when the bill have been approved,” Soksensan added.