PHNOM PENH, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's construction sector recovered with a total investment of 1.7 billion U.S. dollars in 2011, an increase of 102 percent from a year earlier, according to the statistics of the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction on Wednesday.

Last year, the ministry granted licenses to 2,129 construction projects nationwide, slightly down from 2,149 projects in 2010.

Lao Tip Seiha, director of the ministry's construction department, attributed the sharp growth in the construction investment to better economic environment, political stability and good security.

Foreign investors in Cambodia's real estate are mostly from Malaysia, South Korea, China, Vietnam and Japan, he said.