Phnom Penh, Jun 24 (IANS): Cambodia's construction sector attracted a total investment of $2.27 billion in the first five months of 2023, a year-on-year increase of 138 per cent, a senior official said.

Lao Tipseiha, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction, said on Friday that the Southeast Asian nation had provided licenses to 1,463 construction projects during the January-May period this year, Xinhua news agency reported.

"The growth in approved construction projects indicates that the construction and real estate sector has begun to recover after it had been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic," he said here during a roundtable talk on the situation of real estate in Cambodia.

According to the official, Cambodia currently has 2,586 high-rise buildings (between five and over 40 floors), 547 locations of new towns and residential complexes, and 40,917 flats.

The construction and real estate sector is one of the four pillars supporting the kingdom's economy. The three other sectors are garment export, tourism and agriculture.