KANDAL, Cambodia: Cambodia expects that its new airport serving the capital will open in July, a project official said Friday (Mar 21), in a major step forward in boosting the country’s lucrative tourism sector, whose growth was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Work on Phnom Penh’s new airport, officially known as Techo International Airport, began in 2019, covering an area of 2,600ha. It is located at the border of Kandal and Takeo provinces, about 30km south of the capital.
“I think the TIA airport here is going to be launched in the soft opening in July 2025, and we believe that so many passengers are waiting and they really want to come in to see this new airport,” said Charles Vann, director of the airport’s project steering committee, during a media tour.
The new airport is a US$1.5 billion joint venture between the Cambodian government and the Overseas Cambodian Investment Corp. It’s being built by the China Construction Third Engineering Bureau Group Co Ltd.
The architects for the airport are the British firm Foster + Partners, whose website says its design “embodies a strong sense of place” and is “responsive to the tropical climate”.
The terminal building sits under what is described as a single overarching roof canopy that is a lightweight steel grid shell, “with an innovative screen that filters daylight and illuminates the vast terminal space”.
Construction is being undertaken in three phases. Initially, the airport is expected to be capable of handling up to 13 million passengers a year, with capacity increased up to 30 million passengers after 2030, and then up to 50 million passengers in 2050.
It will be the second major airport in Cambodia to open in the space of two years. In 2023, the Chinese-financed Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport began operations in the northwestern province of Siem Reap, about 40km east of the centuries-old Angkor Wat temple complex, the country’s major tourist attraction.
Tourism is one of the main pillars supporting Cambodia’s economy. According to the Ministry of Tourism, Cambodia received around 6.7 million international tourists in 2024, a 23 per cent increase over 2023.
