The 9.25-ha stretch of riverfront from the capital’s Night Market to the Chroy Changvar bridge was reclassified from state-public land to state-private land last month, according to a royal decree signed by the Prime Minister. The royal decree consists of four articles granting the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MPWT) and the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) responsibility for managing the newly transitioned land. The reclassifying of the state-public land to state-private land is a key step toward granting a long-term lease or economic land concession. Roughly the northern half of the designated area is already under the management of the Phnom Penh Autonomous Port, while the southern half is mostly a paved walkway where private riverboats dock. The riverfront real estate would likely fetch between $4,000 and $6,000 per square meter on the open market, according to Chrek Soknim, CEO of real estate firm Century 21 Mekong, making the potential value of the land up to $550mn. (Source: Khmer Times)