Sihanoukville’s Development Master Plan 2025-2038
The Cambodian government recently released the “Preah Sihanouk Multi-Purpose SEZ Master Plan”, outlining a vision to transform the province into an industrial and logistics hub within the ASEAN region, a regional financial trade centre, and a world-class tourist destination with a green and smart city.
The document details the government’s plans to build TVET schools, a logistics complex, an international hospital, a bus terminal, a municipal pipeline, public venues, a city park, a small park plaza, and affordable housing in the coastal province. The main inspiration behind these plans for Sihanoukville – dubbed the ‘Rising Star of the Southwest’ – stem from the development of China’s metropolitan city, Shenzhen.
According to a Cambodian government investor factsheet, Sihanoukville is expected to become a high-income province at least 12 years ahead of the rest of the country. The province’s total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2023 was over USD 1.6 billion and is estimated to reach USD 13.6 billion by 2038.
The Sihanoukville provincial administration has shared that the province’s current GDP per capita is over USD 4,000, compared to the national average of USD 2,700. The GDP per capita is forecasted to reach USD 13,760 by 2038.
Sihanoukville’s Four Industrial Clusters
Four industrial clusters are identified as the province’s main industrial orientation as a multi-purpose Special Economic Zone (SEZ):
- Tourism: This includes sightseeing, resorts, hotels, commercial gambling, MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, and Exhibitions), pension services, and healthcare tourism. The idea is to connect Sihanoukville with Thailand, Vietnam, and key Cambodian destinations like Siem Reap, creating an international tourist route.
- Refined Agro-Industry: The goal is to facilitate the modernisation of agriculture, animal husbandry, and fishing in the surrounding region.
- Advanced Manufacturing: This initiative will upgrade the existing garment and textile industry and develop advanced manufacturing in the electronics, automobile, equipment, and machinery sectors, by establishing a series of modern industrial parks for high-tech manufacturing.
- Modern Service Industries: This includes special finance, cross-border trade, and the digital economy. These are new industries in which Cambodia leverages its comparative advantages to create distinctive economic labels in the region.
Sihanoukville’s Development Master Plan 2025-2038. Image source: MPSEZ
The government master plan also identifies a number of upstream sectors in the province, including electric vehicles (EV) and automobiles, agro-processing, logistics and cold chain, electronic components, and digital finance.
Population & Tourism In Cambodia’s Sihanoukville
The government investor factsheet estimates that by the year 2038, the resident population of Preah Sihanouk province will account for 5 per cent of the national total, or nearly 1 million residents, compared to 310,000 in 2021.
Long Dimanche, Deputy Governor of Preah Sihanouk province, told local media that the influx of foreigners has contributed to higher prices for goods and services in the province compared to Phnom Penh and other provinces. Currently, Sihanoukville hosts a mix of nationalities, including Chinese, Thais, Indonesians, Vietnamese, and some Europeans who live and work in the province.
Local Cambodians mostly spend only a day in the province before returning home. The coastal province attracts an average spend of USD 50 per day from national tourists and USD 100 per day from international visitors.
The factsheet added that Sihanoukville expects to receive 5.4 million annual tourist arrivals, and its GDP is projected to account for 10 per cent of the national total by 2038.
Preah Sihanouk provincial governor Mang Sineth, who is also the Chairman of the Preah Sihanouk Province Investment Promotion Working Group, stated in December 2024 that the province achieved a total economic output of USD 1.61 billion in 2023, in addition to a per capita GDP of USD 4,602, and an economic growth rate of 4 per cent, while the poverty rate has reportedly been reduced to 1.22 per cent.
Sihanoukville Infrastructure Development Plan 2025-2038
Currently, Sihanoukville is connected by an expressway and an international airport. It features a deep seaport, attractive coastlines, and SEZs.
The master plan entails further expansion of the Sihanoukville Port, the development of a new airport terminal and land area for efficient air cargo handling, and the reservation of a site for a second airport in Prey Nob. Other details include:
- Upgrading the existing railway through standardisation and electrification.
- Establishing a backbone road network with at least two trunk road connections between each city. The province will also implement a public transportation system to manage tourist traffic.
The Sihanoukville provincial governor has shared that among the province’s 16 SEZs, only five are currently operational, accommodating 270 factories with a total investment of USD 2.65 billion and a workforce of 94,662.
Building A Sustainable Infrastructure System
The masterplan highlights Kbal Chhay Reservoir as Sihanoukville’s primary water source in the near term, along with the operation of a new thermal power plant in Steung Hav to meet short-term electricity demand.
Additionally, along with communication optical cables, information and communication technology rooms will be established to support communication and digital business needs.
Attracting International Talent To Sihanoukville
The Sihanoukville provincial administration has stated that the province’s evolution into a model multi-purpose Special Economic Zone is supported by a strategic labour mobility program designed to provide businesses with the qualified, experienced, and skilled human resources they require.
With this in mind, the province aims to recruit domestic and international talent, enhance educational and vocational training by building TVET schools, promote the transition of labour from traditional sectors to modern ones, offer special visas for international talent, and introduce certification and professional development programs to maintain competitiveness.