ASEAN

Plans to build 3 new international airports in Cambodia on hold

PLANS to build three new international airports in Cambodia has been put on hold as the pandemic has minimised air travel.

Cambodia's civil aviation authorities spokesman Sin Chanserivutha said investors in new airports in Koh Kong, Battambang and Mondulkiri provinces have postponed their construction plans.

He said the investors were concerned on when the pandemic will end and travel sector resume.

"This is why they are delaying investing in the airport," he said, according to the Khmer Times.

One of the projects that has been postponed is a joint venture between LYP group and Bangkok Airways, to build on the site of the former Koh Kong Airport in Khemarak Phoumin City.

But it has been relocated to a site of around 600 hectares at Koh Por Village in the Mondul Seima district of the province.

The planned June opening of Dara Sakor Airport, also in Koh Kong province, has been delayed even though construction has finished.

Chanserivutha said the delay was because a technical team could not travel to the airport to oversee test flights, due to the pandemic.

Civil aviation authorities have also wrapped up a feasibility study into a new airport in Mondulkiri.

China Power International Group is investing in the multi-million dollar project but construction work on the airport is on hold until potential passenger demand picks up.

There were also plans to rebuild a 129 hectare abandoned airport in Battambang city, with funding from private investors.

The Battambang Airport had one of the country's busiest runways when it first opened in 1968 but was closed down during the time of the Khmer Rouge rule.

It was reopened later and used for civilian fights until the end of the 1990s but never returned to full operational status.

Meanwhile, the Times said Phnom Penh's new USD$1.5 billion international airport was 40 per cent complete at the end of May but it may also be under threat unless the pandemic slows down enough to allow more international visitors.

The new airport will be able to accommodate 15 million passengers a year at the end of the first phase and 30 million after the second stage.

Cambodia currently has three international airports in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Sihanoukville.

Managed by Cambodia Airports, they handled 2.13 million people last year, down 79 per cent from 2019.

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