Cambodia to construct two more airports

[艹艹艹]

Cambodia to construct two more airports​

November 20, 2023

Cambodia will add two more airports to the construction agenda in a bid to improve connectivity between the country and other tourism hubs in the world, said Mao Havannall, Minister in charge of the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation.

Cambodia is planning to develop the airports at Mondulkiri and Koh Rong as part of the government’s agenda to develop tourism, Havannall revealed recently.

“Cambodia is building two airports, upgrading the standard of one airport and planning to build two more airports to improve the connectivity of the country,” he added.

One of the two airports under construction is the Techo International Airport which is expected to be completed in 2024.

Invested by the Cambodia Airport Investment Co., Ltd (CAIC), the $1.5 billion project is being constructed by the China Construction Third Engineering Bureau Group Co., Ltd. on an area of 2,600 hectares in southern Kandal and Takeo provinces.

The work on the 4F-class airport, which is the world’s highest class, began in 2019.

The master plan shows that the new airport will be capable of handling 13 million passengers a year in the first phase, 30 million passengers in the second phase in 2030, and up to 50 million passengers in 2050 in the third phase.

The second one under construction is the $200-million Dara Sakor International Airport in Koh Kong province, currently in its final stage.

Developed by Chinese firm Tianjin Union Development Group (UDG), the airport will be able to accommodate wide-body aircraft, such as the Boeing 777 and Airbus A340.

The $1.1-billion Siem Reap Angkor International Airport was officially inaugurated on November 16 bringing hopes of facilitating more foreign tourists to visit the province, home to UNESCO-listed famed Angkor Wat Archaeological Park.

Cambodia’s international airports handled 4.11 million air passengers in the January-October period this year, a year-on-year increase of 144 percent, the State Secretary of Civil Aviation report showed.

The Kingdom recorded a total of 41,596 flights at the international airports during the period of ten months, up 93 percent year on year, read the report.

Havannall said that the figures showed a significant recovery of the aviation industry in Cambodia.

Cambodia currently has direct flights with eight ASEAN member countries, as well as China, South Korea, and Qatar, among others, according to the report.