The New Siem Reap International Airport Set for a Test Flight in June
The new Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport will be ready to hold a test flight in June with its official flight scheduled for October 23, 2023. Photo from social media
- By Te Chhaysinh
- April 15, 2023 3:20 PM
PHNOM PENH —The new Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport will be ready to hold a test flight in June with its official flight scheduled for October 23, 2023.
The airport, whose cost estimated at nearly $900 million was handled by Angkor International Airport Investment (AIAI), is a 4E airport with 3,600 meters of runway that can accommodate all types of aircrafts—the 4E code indicates that the facility can receive aircrafts with a “reference field length” of 1800 meters and above and a wingspan up to 65 meters. The facility has 38 passenger gates equipped with the latest technology for passenger safety and security.
“This new international airport is 4E standard, has the airport codes ICAO: VDSA, AITA: SAI, and is capable of welcoming…up to 10 million passengers in 2024,” said Thong Rathasak, secretary of state for the Ministry of Tourism, on April 10. He was speaking during the ceremony held at the Indonesian Embassy in Phnom Penh to mark the inaugural direct flight between Jakarta and Phnom Penh by Air Asia.
The Siem Reap International Airport spreads over 1,700 hectares in the Soutr Nikum district of Siem Reap Province. Construction of the facility, which started on March 15, 2020, took 36 months.
In addition to this airport, the Cambodian authorities plan to have the construction of two more international airports completed in 2024.
These are the Phnom Penh Techo International Airport, which is being built through an investment of about $1.5 billion by the Overseas Investment Corporation of Cambodia, and the Dara Sakor Angkor International Airport in Koh Kong Province that is built by the Chinese company Tianjin Union Development Group (UDG) through a $350 million investment.
Cambodia also plans to set up domestic airports in other parts of the country such as in Battambang, Banteay Meanchey, Koh Kong and Mondulkiri provinces.
