Second Siem Reap Airport Grounded for at Least 5 Years: Official

Construction of the $1 billion Siem Reap New International Airport (SRNIA) has been suspended for at least five years as the government gives French-owned Cambodia Airports time to expand its international airports in Cambodia, including its airport in Siem Reap, a senior government official told Khmer Times yesterday. The government has been in talks with Cambodia Airports to allow them time to expand Siem Reap International Airport before it gives the green light to South Korean investors to start building their new airport in the tourist hub, said Tek Reth Samrach, secretary of state at the Office of the Council of Ministers. Mr. Samrach also chairs the NSRIA steering committee.

Construction of the new airport was scheduled to begin in late 2014 and take two years. The government approved the $1 billion project – a 50:50 joint venture between South Korean firms Camco Airport Co Ltd and Lees A&A – in 2010. “We cannot enter talks [with the Korean companies] about their project right now because it affects a previous draft [agreement] with Cambodia Airports,” Mr. Samrach said.

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