AKP Phnom Penh, December 21, 2018 --

Hotel Nikko Phnom Penh will open in 2022, announced yesterday Okura Nikko Hotel Management Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Hotel Okura Co., Ltd. quoted by Business Wire.

According to the same source, the hotel will occupy the upper level of the Japan Trade Centre (tentative name), currently under construction, and the company expects to sign a contract on Dec. 25, 2018 with UY United Co., Ltd. to manage the new property, following an investment in that company by URATA Co., Ltd.

Japan Trade Centre, located in Tuol Tompoung neighbourhood, is a new facility containing office space, retail outlets and the new hotel, and the first major complex in the Cambodian capital to be developed by a Japanese company. This facility aims to act as a networking base for international businesses and to showcase a new form of collaboration whereby Cambodian companies deploy Japanese construction technology in joint ventures with Japanese firms.

A steel-framed structure of a kind that has not yet been widely adopted in Cambodia is being implemented in the new complex, with Japanese construction engineers leading and training constructing teams on site. This project is expected to herald the introduction of new construction technology into Cambodia, and the design of the facility itself will incorporate aspects of both countries’ history, tradition and culture, reflecting as much of the unique characteristics of the surrounding area as possible.

Marcel P. van Aelst, CEO of Okura Nikko Hotel Management, remarked, “It is a big honour for us to be able to be part of this project, an undertaking which will introduce Japanese construction techniques to Cambodia. We aim to create a hotel which will act as a bridge between the two countries, and imbue it with our signature hospitality, rooted in Japanese culture.”

The hotel will offer 201 guest rooms each with a standard area of about 36 square metres on floors 14-22 of the new building. It will feature a wide range of restaurants, including Japanese cuisine and all-day dining, and a skydeck bar on the 23rd floor where guests can enjoy stunning views across the capital.

In recent years, Cambodia has achieved high economic growth rates, averaging more than 7 percent per annum, and is proving to be one of the most attractive ASEAN countries. Since the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community at the end of 2015, the Royal Government of Cambodia has continued to promote economic development and created a number of “special economic zones” aimed at attracting foreign capital. At these zones in Phnom Penh, companies from many different countries have set up operations, the majority of them Japanese enterprises. Geographically, Phnom Penh is strategically located between Ho Chi Minh and Bangkok, and further development in the city is likely as the deregulation of markets and the free movement of people within the ASEAN region accelerates.

Hotel Nikko Phnom Penh will be the first hotel of Okura Nikko Hotels to open in Cambodia, and is part of an ambitious undertaking to expand the group’s global portfolio to 100 properties, primarily in Asia, by 2020.

By C. Nika