The State Secretariat of Civil Aviation (SSCA) spokesman and undersecretary of state Sin Chansereyvutha told local media that work on Techo International Airport (TIA) has so far cost the developer, Cambodia Airport Investment Co Ltd (CAIC), about US$617 million at the end of 2022.
CAIC is a joint venture between Overseas Cambodia Investment Corp Ltd (OCIC) and the SSCA, with ownership set up on a 90:10 basis. Chansereyvutha said that recent studies have suggested that, in general, air traffic volumes in Cambodia may not reach 2019 levels until about end-2024 or early 2025.
Pacific Asia Travel Association Cambodia Chapter chairman Thourn Sinan lauded the progress on TIA, saying that the airport will encourage more aviation business and spur a swift recovery in the local tourism sector. He hailed the airport as a “modern” addition to the air passenger and freight transport sector that will be key to “broadening markets for our country in the coming years”, according to local media reports.
Air passengers in 2022 totalled 2.382 million, up nearly 900 percent year-on-year, but just 25 percent of the 2019 figure. The number of flights came to 28,900 last year, up more than 260 percent year-on-year, but just 28 percent of the 2019 total. Air cargo volumes surpassed 553.7 tonnes which, although down 22 percent year-on-year, marked a 5 percent rise over 2019.
Chansereyvutha said in a later interview in The Phnom Penh Post that that civil aviation sector has seen improvements since November 2021, when the government announced that the country would reopen. By end-December, 27 international airlines had resumed commercial flights, which is just above three-fifths of the 44 in 2019.
He added that the destinations with the most weekly flights to and from Cambodia now are Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, although it’s expected that some Chinese cities will emerge as potential contenders, especially now that China has reopened.
Cre: Asian Aviation
