• Society

New Techo Takhmau Airport 65 Percent Complete

• By Ou Sokmean
• February 27, 2024 6:00 PM

PHNOM PENH – Techo Takhmao International Airport is 65 percent complete and is set to start operations in mid-2025. Contractors from six different countries, not only China, take part in the construction, the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation (SSCA) said.

Located around 20 kilometers south of downtown Phnom Penh, the new airport is being built on an area of 2,600 hectares. The project is worth $1.5 billion and is carried out by an ad-hoc structure, the Cambodia Airport Investment Company (CAIC). 

The Cambodian government holds 10 percent of the shares through the SSCA while the remaining 90 percent of the shares are held by the local conglomerate Overseas Cambodian Investment Corporation (OCIC).

Most of the funding ($1.1 billion) was supposed to come from a loan granted by the China Development Bank. However, the agreement was revoked in 2021, pushing OCIC to issue bonds to finance the project.

International companies from six different countries take part in the building process, said SSCA Spokesperson Sin Chanserivutha, stressing that there is no exclusivity for Chinese companies. He said companies from Canada, England, France, Singapore, China, Hong Kong and South Korea are involved in the project.

“Foster and Partners of the United Kingdom did the design of the airport's arrival. The design of the runways and taxis way is done by a Canadian company, and the general work management and construction are done by Chinese, Hong Kong, French, and Cambodian companies,” Chanserivutha said.  

“A company from South Korea also helped build the aircraft’s power control station,” he added.

The plan for building a new international airport south of Phnom Penh was officially launched in January 2018, during a visit by former Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to Cambodia.

Chanserivutha said this new airport is 65 percent complete. According to the plan, the construction of phase I will be completed by the end of 2024 and is scheduled to open in mid-2025.

The new Phnom Penh Airport is a 4F type that can accommodate large aircraft up to Airbus A380-800 and Boeing 747-800.

During the visit of Prime Minister Hun Manet to France, in January 2024, OCIC announced it selected the Cambodian HSC Group and the French company Lagardère Travel Retail for the management of the duty-free section at the new airport.

 

Originally written in Khmer for ThmeyThmey, this article was translated by Nhor Sokhoeurn for Cambodianess.