PHNOM PENH, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The construction work on a Chinese-built new Phnom Penh international airport, formally known as the Techo International Airport, is expected to be completed in 2024, a spokesman said on Sunday.
Invested by the Cambodia Airport Investment Co., Ltd (CAIC), the 1.5 billion U.S. dollar project is being constructed by the China Construction Third Engineering Bureau Group Co., Ltd. on an area of 2,600 hectares in southern Kandal and Takeo provinces.
The work on the 4F-class airport, which is the world's highest class, began in 2019.
State Secretariat of Civil Aviation's Undersecretary of State and Spokesman Sinn Chanserey Vutha said the new airport will play a key role in boosting Cambodia's economic growth and tourism when it is put into operation.
"According to the updated master schedule provided by the CAIC, the project in the first phase is expected to be completed in the middle of 2024," he told Xinhua.
According to the contractor, to date, more than 50 percent of the construction work had been completed.
The master plan shows that the new airport will be capable of handling 13 million passengers a year in the first phase, 30 million passengers in the second phase in 2030, and up to 50 million passengers in 2050 in the third phase.
The project is the fruit of close cooperation between Cambodia and China under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative. ■
