PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet on Monday inaugurated a major new airport to serve the capital Phnom Penh and boost tourism and foreign investment.
Techo International Airport is a three-runway facility that replaces the nearly 70-year-old Phnom Penh International Airport, which had only one runway.
The new $2 billion airport, in Kandal province, about 30 kilometers south of Phnom Penh. started work in September. It is a joint venture between the Cambodian government and the Overseas Cambodian Investment Corp.
Hun Manet said he hoped the new airport will be a driving force in attracting more tourists and investors to Cambodia, “more than before the arrival of COVID-19.”
The new airport is expected to initially accommodate 13 million passengers, but capacity will increase to 30 million after 2030 and to 50 million by 2050.
The immediate prospects of a rise in foreign tourists have been overshadowed by the highly publicized death of a young South Korean man who was allegedly tricked into working in one of Cambodia's online scam centers.
Many of the employees there are held as virtual slaves to commit online fraud in a multi-billion dollar organized crime activity. The illegal industry came into focus last week when the United States and Britain imposed sanctions on the organizers of a major Cambodian gang, and its alleged leader was indicted in a federal court in New York.
Tourism suffered another blow in July, when Cambodia fought a five-day conflict with neighboring Thailand. It was halted by a ceasefire, but tensions remain high.
Cambodia received about 4 million foreign tourists from January to August this year, Hun Manet said in September. Last year it received 6.7 million euros, an increase of 23% compared to 2023.
It is Cambodia's second new major airport in two years. In October 2023, the Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport opened to serve Cambodia's most popular tourist attraction, the ancient temple complex of Angkor Wat.
