Andy Goh creates his prefabricated modules and images in Cambodia
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The time Singaporean designer Andy Goh joined Ong&Ong Architects in the year 2000 as the CEO of the emerging markets. He established a branch in Myanmar and later Thailand and also considered expanding into Cambodia as well as Laos. “Those were the early days of Myanmar,” Goh relates. “Parkroyal hotel rooms cost just $40 per night. The taxis had holes in their floor to allow water to run out after the flood. This was almost like the previous frontier.”
Goh is currently both an actual estate developer as well as an architect. In April He was appointed the CEO of Jonah Journeys, an investment holding company, which was founded by Furi Corp which is a joint venture with Cambodia-based real estate company Furi Real Estate which was established in the year 2012. “If you are looking to get at the highest level in the chain of food, then you must be an developer,” he says. “Our job as architects has slowly diminished through the decades. We are not just architects; we are much more than this.”
He says that Singapore’s urban surroundings today are more an outcome of policy decisions by the government and not the imagination of architects. “It’s definitely not architects that are driving the change,” says Goh. “That’s the reason why foreign markets give us a more favorable opportunity to grow.”
The worth of money is a different factor as per Goh. The value of money is another factor. Singapore, $5.3 million to $5.5 million can buy a corner terraced, freehold home in Lorong Biawak, off Upper Serangoon Road or at Jambol Walk, off West Coast Highway According to URA Realis in September. “You aren’t able to buy an unfreehold semi-detached home within Singapore with a price of $5 million right now,” he says. “But you could build an entire 8,000 square meters retail mall elsewhere located in Southeast Asia.”
Prefabricated mall in Sihanoukville
Goh was able to do exactly that during his first attempt as an property developer within Sihanoukville the city that is located on the coast located in southwest Cambodia. In the latter half of 2018 he came upon an undeveloped site in Sihanoukville that was used as a parking lot and the landowner was unwilling to let him sell the property because it was located situated in an ideal location. Therefore, Goh decided to sign an agreement for a 50-year lease of the site. He designed an 15,000 sq m (161,460 sq feet) prefabricated shopping mall in just 12 months.
The mall was opened in the latter part of 2019 and has 60% occupancy. The tenants include KFC, PizzaCo and Starbucks. Goh together with his group eventually ended in running the mall by themselves. “We were able to do this because tenants wanted us to find employees for their stores and to find a place for their staff,” says Goh. “We did more than a professional real estate company would be able to do.”
The mall’s first day of opening The Covid disease hit. In the latter part of 2019 the Cambodian government had also shut down illegal online casinos which were especially prevalent in Sihanoukville.
In the past decade in the past, it was a decade ago that the Cambodian coastal town also gained of the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative. Chinese investments have led to the tourism industry gaining up to 700% between 2012 and 2017. According to the official figures, Chinese nationals accounted for more than 100,000, (90% of the expatriate population of Sihanoukville in the year 2019.
Chinese foreign private and direct investment was poured into development of real estate as well as casinos and hotels properties. In 2020, as high as 90% of businesses in Sihanoukville were owned by Chinese citizens. The lockdown saw casinos and other businesses that were not essential to the city were closed. Around between% or 90% of Chinese expatriates emigrated from Sihanoukville.
Despite “the double of a whammy” that is Covid and the exodus of Chinese foreigners, Goh’s mall lasted. “The locals returned,” he says. “The government has shut down the casinos that were illegal online. The physical casinos are now open and have taken steps to clean up their acts.” Its use remains around the 60% area, however it’s due for an upgrade, as per Goh.
Luxury resort integrated at Koh Rong island
In the past two years, Goh came across a 43ha land parcel close to Sihanoukville Airport. Sihanoukville Airport and the coastline. The site was bought for US$197 million as part of the form of a joint venture 51:49 by Goh as well as an owner of the land in the local area.
“We have set aside six hotels to be developed,” the executive says. These include international hospitality companies as well as ones from Singapore as well, he says. Goh is also the creator of his own brand of hospitality, R+ that stands for “rare and respectful, as well as reciprocal” Goh states.
“What we’re trying to achieve is to respect the environment that we live in, and to help individuals to be aware of the area,” he adds. “Part in our mission as an environmental socio-economic and government [ESG] mission is to improve the quality of life for the people living that we serve, not just for employment reasons however, but to improve the value of local products.”
Ground-up initiatives include back to basics farming and the making of bottles from recycled glass, and working with a local school of cooking to develop a concept of farm-to-table using local ingredients for the restaurants he plans to open in his new R+ resorts. “It’s to find the best partners who share the same values that can be a part of our R+ community,” he adds.
Goh’s main focus is developing R+ Koh Rong, the resort property which is situated on a 30ha steep terrain that is surrounded by lush greenery on Koh Rong, an island located just from Sihanoukville. The development will feature cantilevered villas, a luxurious hotel, a hotel school with accommodation for staff along with a cultural and commercial centre, and farms in the local area which are involved in technology and co-farming ventures.
Once completed when it is completed, there will be 36 villas scattered across R+ Koh Rong. To reduce the carbon footprintof the project, each villa will be constructed elsewhere, and then transported on site in flatpacks, then put together. Each module is constructed from steel and measures 31.5 sq m in area that is bigger than a shipping container that is 40 feet long.
With the smallest size at 31.5 sq meters, the modular units are able to be combined to form three or two-room homes that range from 90 to 100 square meters. Each room of it is planned as self-contained, and has the larger rooms having an exclusive pool. In the villa, common areas and amenities include the dining and living areas and the kitchen.
There are larger containers that have natural ventilation. A few of them can transform into spacious bathrooms with bathtubs that are open to the natural world. Some are designed to be traditional bathrooms. “We are testing different ideas to provide people with the choice,” says Goh.
An excellent balance” between sustainability and luxury
Each villa will include four units that can be configured in various ways. “People are looking for a different experience each time travelling,” says Goh. “Even while they desire an authentic and distinctive experience, they need the modern conveniences and pampering.”
Buyers can opt to buy the villas with an strata title and 50-year lease, or leaseback arrangements, in which the lease is renewed after 50 years. The villas located at R+ Koh Rong, which come with a strata title as well as the option of a 50-year lease starting at US$2.6 millions ($3.7 million) for each.
Villa owners be able to offer the property within the pool rental of the hotel in order to make a profit should they want. Each villa room will be charged approximately US$400 per night.
Goh is also planning to offer Rand stored value cards to its members in exchange for an annual fee. With the stored-value card members will be able to enjoy a 30% discount on hotel rates. So, instead of paying the standard rate of US$400 per night, they’ll be able to receive a discount of between US$250 and US$300 per night. The card is also able to be used to earn points that can be used for the purchase of goods, F&B or farm tours.
The first phase of R+ Koh Rong will be the finalization of nine villas. It will be and then the second phase, which will feature the facilities at the hotel, such as restaurants, a spas and pools. Goh is aiming to launch the first phase of the resort in 2023.
There’s no direct flight connecting Singapore towards Sihanoukville. From Phnom Penh, it is only a two-hour drive on this new road, in contrast to five hours on an old road Goh claims. In recent times, good infrastructure and roads have been built in Sihanoukville Goh adds. “Sihanoukville is also extremely accessible to those who fly to the city via China as well as Hong Kong,” he says.