Cambodia’s new airport serving the capital will open in July, according to a project official who confirmed it on Friday ( Mar 21 ), a significant step forward in boosting the nation’s lucrative tourism sector, whose growth was halted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The construction of Phnom Penh’s fresh airport, now known as Techo International Airport, began in 2019 and covers a 2,600ha area. It is located about 30 kilometers south of the capital at the borders of the counties of Kandal and Takeo.
” I think the TIA airport here will be opened in the gentle opening in July 2025, and we think that so many people are waiting and really want to visit this new air-port,” said Charles Vann, the project steering committee chairman, during a press journey.
The Thai government and the International Thai Investment Corp. are jointly funding the fresh airport in a US$ 1.5 billion joint venture. The China Construction Third Engineering Bureau Group Co Ltd. is building it.
The American company Foster Partners is the airport’s architects, according to its site, which claims its pattern “embodies a strong sense of place” and is “responsive to the exotic weather.”
The connector building is positioned beneath a” one overriding roof canopy” of light steel grid shells,” with an impressive screen that filters daylight and illuminates the huge terminal space.”
Design is being carried out in three stages. The aircraft is anticipated to be able to handle up to 13 million people annually, with potential increasing to 30 million after 2030, and then to 50 million in 2050.
It will be Cambodia’s following major airport to start in the next two years. The Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport, which is funded by China, opened its doors in the northern county of Siem Reap in 2023, about 40 kilometers west of the country’s landmark Angkor Wat temple complex, which is the country’s main tourist attraction.
One of the main pillars of Cambodia’s sector is hospitality, which is one of its main drivers. Cambodia received approximately 6.7 million foreign tourists in 2024, which is a 23 % increase over 2023, according to the Ministry of Tourism.