OCIC Koh Norea Review: Bridge, Prices and What Is Built
OCIC Koh Norea for foreign buyers: the Koh Pich bridge due to open November 2026, what is on sale, how prices sit below Koh Pich, and what is not yet built.
Quick answer: OCIC Koh Norea is the island satellite city east of Koh Pich, in Chbar Ampov, and in September 2026 it is still mostly a plan. The deciding fact this year is the $38 million cable-stayed bridge from Koh Pich: joined at the end of August 2026 and due to open in November. Condo prices sit below Koh Pich, with Norea Square marketed from about $61,000 against Koh Pich premium entry near $106,000, and that gap is the price of buying before the district exists.
This page is the buyer’s map of the Koh Norea project as a whole: what exists, what is on sale, and what is only drawn. The district-level argument, why an island city takes decades to mature, is made on the Koh Norea area page, and OCIC as a company is profiled in the OCIC developer guide.
What is built on Koh Norea in September 2026?
Very little that a tenant can use. Sales are open on individual towers, but the retail streets, schools and services in the masterplan renderings are not operating, and no residential tower we could verify has been handed over. The status of the main elements, as far as published sources show:
| Element | Status in September 2026 | What to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Koh Pich to Koh Norea bridge | Joined end of August 2026, due to open November 2026 | Opening date confirmed by the ministry |
| Condominium towers | On sale, mostly off-plan, handovers marketed into the late 2020s | Construction permit and stage of your tower |
| Norea Square | 26 floors, 224 units, marketed for 2029 to 2030 | Unit schedule and completion clause |
| Retail and services | Planned, not operating | Which phase, and who is building it |
| Island infrastructure | Estate-managed, like Koh Pich | Who owns and maintains roads and drainage |
| Whole-island completion | No date published | Treat as open-ended |
The bridge row is the one that moves this year. The detail of the crossing and the wider Chbar Ampov bridge programme is on the Chbar Ampov district page. A buyer should confirm the bridge is actually open to traffic before pricing a commute into a rent assumption, because a dated promise is not the same as a working road.
What can a foreign buyer actually buy here?
Condominium units in towers, above the ground floor, and nothing on the ground. Foreign buyers may hold freehold strata title on private units above the ground floor under the Law of 24 May 2010, subject to Sub-Decree No. 126 (2009): foreign ownership is capped at 70% of the total area of all private units in the co-owned building. Land remains closed to foreign freehold ownership. Any villa, townhouse or shophouse on the island therefore sits outside what a foreigner can own directly, whatever a sales agent suggests. The full rules are in the foreign ownership guide.
The Koh Norea tower with the most complete launch terms on this site is Norea Square: 26 floors, 224 units, marketed from about $61,000, or near $1,249 per sqm, with handover targeted for 2029 to 2030 and Canadia Bank referenced as a loan partner. It is the practical off-plan entry point to the island for a foreign buyer in 2026. The island’s other reviewed building is Vue Aston, launched in 2020 by The Peninsula Capital Co. with HKS Architects, and the Koh Norea area page covers it in more detail.
How do Koh Norea prices compare with Koh Pich?
Koh Norea is cheaper, and the discount is easy to explain. Koh Pich premium stock starts near $106,000 for foreign buyers and trades well above the Phnom Penh average of about $1,800 per sqm. Norea Square’s marketed $1,249 per sqm sits below that city average.
| Koh Norea (Norea Square) | Koh Pich (Diamond Bay Garden) | |
|---|---|---|
| Stage | Off-plan, handover 2029 to 2030 | Handover from late 2025 |
| Scale | 26 floors, 224 units | 3 towers, 39 floors, 591 units |
| Entry | From about $61,000 | Koh Pich premium from about $106,000 |
| Price per sqm | Near $1,249 marketed | Above the $1,800 city average |
| Tenants today | None | Present on the island |
| Access | Bridge due November 2026 | Established bridges to the city |
What the extra money buys on Koh Pich is a finished district. Diamond Bay Garden is the cleanest example: three verified towers, handed over from late 2025, on an island where tenants and resale buyers already exist. On Koh Norea you pay less for a unit in a place that has to be built around you.
How long might the wait be?
Longer than the tower’s completion date. Koh Pich is the only finished example of an OCIC island city, and it took roughly two decades to become the district it is today. Koh Norea starts with advantages Koh Pich did not have, a developer with a delivery record and a bridge arriving early, but a buyer should still assume the island will be thin on residents for several years after the first towers are handed over.
That has three consequences for the numbers. Rent in the first years after handover will be set by a small tenant pool, so vacancy should be modelled high. Resale before the district fills will be to other investors, who will want a discount for the same wait you took. And service charges start at handover whether or not the retail street opens, which the Koh Norea area page prices in more detail.
Weighing Koh Norea against a finished Koh Pich tower? We will put both on the same net-yield model, with realistic vacancy for each stage, before you choose.
Compare the twoHow should payments be structured on an island this early?
Tie every instalment to a construction stage of your tower, with dated photos, and never to calendar dates alone. The normal pace in Phnom Penh is about 1% of the price a month over 30 to 40 months, as set out in the off-plan payment schedule guide, and a schedule that runs faster than that on an island without residents deserves a question.
Two clauses matter more here than in a city-centre tower. The completion clause should state the remedy if the handover date slips, because a 2029 date on an unfinished island has more ways to move. And the SPA should say who owns and maintains the roads, drainage and riverbank your building depends on, since on a privately planned island those are estate functions and their cost reaches owners through service charges. With banking non-performing loans near 8.9% in 2026, a buyer should also ask how the tower is financed beyond presales.
Who is Koh Norea for?
It suits a buyer who wants OCIC exposure below Koh Pich prices, can hold into the 2030s, and accepts that the first years after handover will be quiet. It also suits a buyer who believes the November 2026 bridge will pull the island into the city faster than Koh Pich was pulled in.
It does not suit a buyer who needs rent soon, a buyer who may need to sell within a few years, or a buyer who wants landed property. For income now, look at completed Koh Pich towers through the Koh Pich overview. For the lowest ticket in the city, the comparison is in Megakim versus OCIC entry price.
Before you pay a deposit on Koh Norea
Confirm the bridge is open to traffic, or price your model as if it is not. Get the construction permit and current stage of your specific tower, the unit schedule, and a completion clause with a remedy for delay. Ask who maintains the island infrastructure and how it is charged. Request the foreign quota position for the building in writing. Then cross to Koh Pich and walk Diamond Bay Garden, because that is what OCIC delivers when an island is finished, and it shows you what you are paying less to wait for.
Frequently Asked Questions
Koh Norea is the island satellite city that OCIC is developing east of Koh Pich, in Chbar Ampov. It repeats the Koh Pich model of a privately planned island district, at an earlier stage: much of what the masterplan shows is not yet built.
Not yet. OCIC's cable-stayed bridge, costing about $38 million, was physically joined at the end of August 2026 and is due to open in November 2026. Until it opens, a Koh Norea commute runs the long way round, which is the single biggest drag on rent today.
Koh Norea is cheaper. Koh Pich premium stock starts near $106,000 for foreign buyers, while Norea Square on Koh Norea is marketed from about $61,000, or near $1,249 per sqm. The discount pays for the stage: the amenities, retail and residents of Koh Pich are not on Koh Norea yet.
Yes, as strata co-ownership in condominium towers above the ground floor. Under Sub-Decree No. 126 (2009), foreign ownership is capped at 70% of the total area of all private units in each building. Landed villas and shophouses on the island sit on land and are closed to foreign freehold.
No completion date for the whole island has been published. Individual towers carry their own dates, such as 2029 to 2030 marketed for Norea Square. Koh Pich, the only completed example of this model, took roughly two decades to become the district it is now.
A buyer who needs rent and resale soon should look at completed Koh Pich stock such as Diamond Bay Garden, handed over from late 2025. A buyer who can hold into the 2030s and wants a lower entry can take Koh Norea's stage risk at a discount.
Frequently Asked Questions
Koh Norea is the island satellite city that OCIC is developing east of Koh Pich, in Chbar Ampov. It repeats the Koh Pich model of a privately planned island district, at an earlier stage: much of what the masterplan shows is not yet built.
Not yet. OCIC's cable-stayed bridge, costing about $38 million, was physically joined at the end of August 2026 and is due to open in November 2026. Until it opens, a Koh Norea commute runs the long way round, which is the single biggest drag on rent today.
Koh Norea is cheaper. Koh Pich premium stock starts near $106,000 for foreign buyers, while Norea Square on Koh Norea is marketed from about $61,000, or near $1,249 per sqm. The discount pays for the stage: the amenities, retail and residents of Koh Pich are not on Koh Norea yet.
Yes, as strata co-ownership in condominium towers above the ground floor. Under Sub-Decree No. 126 (2009), foreign ownership is capped at 70% of the total area of all private units in each building. Landed villas and shophouses on the island sit on land and are closed to foreign freehold.
No completion date for the whole island has been published. Individual towers carry their own dates, such as 2029 to 2030 marketed for Norea Square. Koh Pich, the only completed example of this model, took roughly two decades to become the district it is now.
A buyer who needs rent and resale soon should look at completed Koh Pich stock such as Diamond Bay Garden, handed over from late 2025. A buyer who can hold into the 2030s and wants a lower entry can take Koh Norea's stage risk at a discount.
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