The government and the contractor hired to renovate Sihanoukville’s Kang Keng Airport have announced that the new airport will be operational by the end of March.
“We want everything finished before [Khmer] New Year—the airport, golf course, hotels, beach development and the Ream National Park and types of service structure,” said Thong Khon, Ministry of Tourism secretary of state.
He admitted Thursday that the airport renovations have come slowly over several years, but said that a terminal capable of handling 60 travelers, a runway measuring 1,350 meters by 35 meters and a parking lot have been completed.
The airport has been closed since the June 1997 factional fighting. Renovations, which were supposed to start before it closed, began in earnest in September 2002, said an official from Ariston Sdn Bhd, the Malaysia-based company contracted to rebuild the airport.
Kang Keng Airport will be upgraded to a regional airport, to exchange flights with other Southeast Asian countries, Thong Khon said. He said he expects the new airport to offer connections with Ho Chi Minh City, Pattaya, Thailand, and Sabah, Malaysia.
Thong Khon predicted a boom in Sihanoukville tourism. “When the airport is operating, the rest of the development sectors, such as water sports and some island development, will be there,” he said.
A senior official at the State Secretariat for Civil Aviation was more apprehensive. “It is lacking a lot of equipment, such as communication and navigation systems, radar control for landing and take-off,” he said Thursday, on condition of anonymity. “They haven’t installed the administration’s working equipment and no customs office has been set up.”
But Ariston Sdn Bhd issued a statement Thursday confirming that airport will be operational by the Khmer New Year.
Thong Khon said that the State Secretariat for Civil Aviation and Ariston will jointly manage the new airport, but declined to discuss details about the sharing of responsibilities and revenue.
