A $1.2bn Chinese-built “luxury city” is being built in Cambodia, accelerating what critics concerned about Beijing’s influence in the south-east Asian country call the region’s “Chinafication”.

Chinese developer Tianjin Union Development Group (UDG) says Tourism Vacation Town will feature high-end hotels, offices and theme parks on 1,200 hectares of land in Cambodia’s southwestern Koh Kong province. Details are scant, but building work is expected to begin next year.

The company has already started work on another $3.8bn resort in the same province, named Dara Sakor. In 2008 UDG was given a 99-year lease for land in Koh Kong to build Dara Sakor, which is expected to feature a port as well as attractions such as casinos. Many villagers have allegedly been displaced by the project, with some launching protests against what they said were unlawful “land grabs”.

Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen sees Chinese investment as vital for his country’s development, and such issues have not deterred him from embracing Beijing. With Hun’s ties with the European Union and many western countries fraying following his controversial election win in July, branded undemocratic by critics, he has welcomed both political and financial support from China.

In 2017 China invested $1.7bn in Cambodia, with president Xi Jinping giving money to Hun’s military as well as encouraging Chinese businesses to invest in the country. Critics say Chinese businesses moving into Cambodia, which has a modest GDP of $20bn, have pushed out many locals and decimated their culture in areas such as Sihanoukville, near Koh Kong.

The Centre for Advanced Defence Studies, a US thinktank, warned of Beijing’s “ulterior motives” behind Cambodian investment beyond the “win-win” economic benefits it claims. In a report released in April the authors suggested that by gaining more access to ports in Cambodia, Beijing could get greater access to maritime trade routes and support for territory claims in disputed areas.