Capital’s Airport Starts Adding More Space Next Week

Siem Reap International Airport. Wing Ho Tsang | Dreamstime.com

Capital’s Airport Starts Adding More Space Next Week

Khmer Times/Sok Chan Wednesday, 09 March 2016 

An extension of the terminal at Phnom Penh International Airport will be officially opened late next week, a senior official from the State Secretary of Civil Aviation (SSCA) told Khmer Times yesterday.

SSCA spokesman Sin Chanserey Vutha said the new section of Phnom Penh International Airport will be inaugurated on March 16 as part of the $100 million upgrade of the airport as well as Siem Reap International Airport.

Further expansion of the terminal, another runway and cargo buildings, hangers and the installation of a Cat III level instrument landing system and approach lighting will follow, the official said.

The expansion is part of the two airports being implemented by Cambodia Airports, which holds the concessions to operate them. The company’s major shareholder is France’s VINCI Group, which has a 70 percent stake in it.

When complete the expanded terminal will be able to handle at least 5 million passengers per year, Mr. Vutha said. “We will do a grand opening for the half-completed passenger terminal and continue its work until the whole project is completed,” Mr. Vutha said. He added that the progress being made in Cambodia’s aviation sector was due to the country’s GDP growth and economic stability in the Kingdom.

 

A surge in tourist traffic is expected in the next five to 10 years as arrivals from neighboring countries increase. “The amount of passengers traveling to Cambodia has risen by about 6-7 percent per year and this new terminal will help with the flow of tourists visiting our country,” Mr. Vutha said. There are now 39 airlines, including charter flights, arriving at Cambodian airports every day, he said.  

“We know that tourism plays an important role in our economy and now we have set two strategies. One is a market strategy and the second is to target the Chinese market to increase the number of passengers in the next few years,” he said.

Ho Vandy, president of World Express Tours and Travel, told Khmer Times that the newly renovated terminal will make moving through the airport easier. This will give Cambodia a new image as the country’s aviation sector develops in the early stages of the Asean Economic Community and will help promote the country to tourists and investors from around the world, he said.  

“The parking outside still does not look professional and they must look into this. But when tourists first come here they will have good memories and convince their relatives and friends to visit the Kingdom and keep returning themselves,” Mr. Vandy said.

According to Cambodia Airports, the country’s airports handled more than 696,000 passengers and 13,000 flights in the first month of this year, up 3 and 5.8 percent respectively compared with January 2015. Phnom Penh International Airport welcomed more than 289,000 passengers in January this year, an increase of 8.1 percent over the same month last year.

Siem Reap International Airport handled more than 394,000 passengers in January, a decrease of 1.1percent compared with the same month in 2015. Passenger traffic at Sihanouk International Airport continued to grow, surging 31.3 percent year on year to 11,668 passengers in the first month of the year.

Phnom Penh International Airport handled more than 2,000 domestic and international flights in January, an increase of 13.7 percent compared with January last year, while Siem Reap handled more than 3,000 flights in the month, a drop of 0.5 percent compared with January 2015.