Feature: Chinese-invested airport boosts Cambodia’s Angkor world heritage

SIEM REAP, Cambodia, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) — Situated roughly 40 km east of the UNESCO-listed Angkor Archaeological Park here in northwest Cambodia, the Siem Reap Angkor International Airport has served as a key gateway for international visitors to the centuries-old Angkor park.
Invested by the Angkor International Airport Investment (Cambodia) Co., Ltd., an affiliate of China’s Yunnan Investment Holdings Ltd., the airport, built on a parcel of 700 square hectares, is currently Cambodia’s biggest airport.
The 4E-level international airport, with a 3,600-meter-long runway, began commercial operations on Oct. 16, 2023.
According to statistics, the airport handled a total of 14,700 flights, with 1.32 million passengers in the first year of its operations.
Thy Sopheakleap, a 21-year-old employee at the airport, said she is really happy to work with the airport because it has not only given her an opportunity for self-development, but is also a chance for tourism promotion.
“The airport is very important for Siem Reap province because it is a main gateway for national and international tourists to visit the Angkor Wat Temple,” she told Xinhua.
Sopheakleap said the airport can handle a large number of passengers, facilitating the travel of foreign tourists to the Angkor Wat Temple, so they can explore culture, civilization and tradition.
She added that the presence of international tourists is vital to help improve the livelihoods of people in Siem Reap province.
“This airport will attract more tourists to Siem Reap province because it is huge, capable of handling up to 7 million passengers per year,” she said. “I hope that in the future, this airport will attract more new flights to Siem Reap province.”
Nang Vannak, another employee, said that the airport has not only helped attract tourists and investors, but also created numerous jobs for locals.
“The airport is crucial for Cambodia, particularly for the people in Siem Reap province, because this 4E-class airport is large, and can accommodate the landing of wide-body airliners,” he told Xinhua.
Vannak believed that the airport will be able to attract more international flights and tourists from different countries to Siem Reap province.
“As this airport can handle the landing of large planes, passengers can take direct flights from their countries here,” he said.
Yang Chenglong, head of the administrative department at the Angkor International Airport Investment (Cambodia) Co., Ltd., said the airport averagely accommodates 40 flights with 3,620 passengers per day.
“The airport has opened routes to 15 cities in eight countries, connecting many countries and regions in South Asia and Southeast Asia,” he told Xinhua.
Among them, international flights come from China, Laos, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and South Korea, he said.
“The airport is gradually becoming an important link to promote economic and cultural exchanges between Cambodia and Southeast Asia,” Yang said.
“This is of great significance for promoting the opening of intercontinental routes, promoting the development of Siem Reap’s tourism industry, and attracting more international tourists to Cambodia,” he said.
“In the future, I believe that with the full support of the Cambodian government and joint efforts of relevant departments and enterprises, Siem Reap’s tourism industry will recover and flourish in the years to come, and the airport’s passenger throughput will also increase,” he added.
Mao Havannall, minister in charge of Cambodia’s State Secretariat of Civil Aviation, on Wednesday praised the airport’s quality service, saying it has contributed to the development of the civil aviation industry in Cambodia, and helped boost the nation’s economic growth, tourism and investment. ■