What Is The Progress Of The New Cambodian Airports in 2025
There are three operational international airports in Cambodia by the end of 2024, but 2025 should see the launch of the Techo International Airport in Phnom Penh, as well as the launch of the Dara Sakor International Airport. These will join the Siem Reap Angkor International Airport (launched in 2023) and the Sihanoukville International Airport to be the main international gateways for air passengers travelling into and from the Kingdom of Cambodia.
Dara Sakor International Airport - First Phase Only Accommodates Domestic & Charter Flights
Dara Sakor International Airport has been threatening to open for many years and has seen a few false starts. The airport in the southwestern Koh Kong province is intended to attract international passengers and link Cambodia with new destinations in the region and further afield.
In 2008, the Cambodian government appointed the Union Development Group (a subsidiary of Wanlong Group) to build a US $3.8 billion mega project in Dara Sakor. As part of the 99-year lease, UDG was mandated to build an international airport, a deep-water seaport, an industrial park, and luxury resort facilities in the special economic zone (SEZ).
Size And Capability of Dara Sakor International Airport
The airport is developed on a plot of land in the districts of Kiri Sakor and Botum Sakor and the initial phase of the Dara Sakor International Airport (which was initially announced to be a Code 4E International Airport capable of handling Boeing 777 and Airbus A340 aircraft) is now reported to cover 218 hectares with Coastal Airport Investment Co., Ltd. investing approximately US $200 million. When completed, the airport is expected to be capable of handling 7 million passengers annually in the medium term, and 20 million in the long term from 2030 to 2050.
The launch of the airport has been delayed by several years - even in 2024 alone there have been several postponements. Cambodian State Secretariat of Civil Aviation (SSCA) Undersecretary of State spokesman Sin Chanserey Vutha has announced the imminent launch of operations since 2022.
The official start of operations at the Dara Sakor International Airport was then set for mid-2023, and according to provincial governor Mithona Phouthorng at the time, "there would be no further delays to the planned mid-2023 start of operations". It was then due to be operational in August 2024 and delayed again to November 2024.
Fast forward to 23 December 2024 and Sinn Chanserey Vutha has now confirmed that the airport would only be able to accommodate domestic flights for 2B aircraft-charter flights (light aircraft with a weight of not more than 5,700kg) in the first phase. There is said to be a gradual move towards the launch of international flights in the future but no timeline has been provided.
Following the completion of successful test flights in September 2024, the first domestic charter flights were announced for 26 December 2024 between the Phnom Penh International Airport and the Dara Sakor International Airport.
- Estimated Cost - Dara Sakor International Airport - US $200 million approximately
- Estimated Operations - Domestic Flights - December 2024 / International Flights TBC
Techo International Airport (TIA) - Delayed to H2 2025
After initially being announced to launch operations in the first half of 2025, the launch of the under-construction (and 92 per cent completed) Techo International Airport (TIA) has been rescheduled to commence officially in July of 2025.
The update was announced following the site inspection led by Mao Havannall, Minister in Charge of the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation, at which they said the remaining work is expected to be finished by March 2025.
Located approximately 20 kilometres south of Phnom Penh, the site covers 2,600 hectares across Kandal and Takeo provinces and has been designed to accommodate long-haul flights from aircraft such as the Airbus A380-800 and Boeing 747-800.
TIA is being developed by Cambodia Airport Investment Co Ltd (CAIC), a joint venture between the Cambodian government and the Overseas Cambodian Investment Corporation (OCIC).
- Estimated Cost - Techo Takhmao International Airport - US $1.5 billion
- Estimated Operations - July 2025
Koh Rong International Airport - Due in 2028
The Koh Rong International Eco-Tourism Airport was announced in 2023 with a US $300 million development led by Royal Group Koh Rong Development Company, under a similar agreement to the Dara Sakor International Airport construction project.
This forms part of the Cambodian government's framework of a multi-purpose joint venture for the whole of Koh Rong city and is in the form of a Design-Build-Finance-Operate-Maintain (DBFOM) project within the framework of Build-Own-Operate (BOO).
Initial plans are for the airport to be a 4C-class international airport, with a runway longer than 1,800m and the development including 4000 sqm in the first phase and 7000 sqm in Phase II.
When completed, the airport is projected to be able to accommodate around 138,000 passengers annually in the first phase, increasing the capacity to 266,000 passengers after a decade.
- Estimated Cost - Koh Rong Airport - US $300 million
- Estimated Operations - 2028
Siem Reap Angkor International Airport (SAI) - Operational Since 2023
Siem Reap Angkor International Airport (SAI), is managed by Yunnan Investment Holding Group and launched operations in November 2023. The airport is located about 50 km from Siem Reap city, with a capacity of up to 7 million passengers per year.
SIA Chairman, Lu Wei announced that Siem Reap has seen 1.3 million passengers arrive in the first eleven months of 2024, with estimates of 1.4 million by the end of 2024 and 2 million in 2025.
In the first 11 months of 2024, about 900,000 international tourists visited Angkor Wat Archeological Park according to Angkor Enterprise and it remains the biggest tourist attraction with the airport seen as a key means of attracting more international tourism to Siem Reap.
In contradictory reporting of the numbers, the World Bank said of tourism in Siem Reap: "During the first eight months of 2024, total international tourist arrivals to Siem Reap were significantly lower than in 2019, reaching only 23.2 per cent of the 2019 level. International arrivals to Siem Reap reached 0.4 million, accounting for 9.0 per cent of the total during the first eight months of 2024, compared to 1.67 million or 38.5 per cent of the total during the same period in 2019."
New SIA Flights Due In 2025
In October 2024, flights from Thailand’s Bangkok and Phuket to SAI were launched by Thai Airway and Air Asia Thailand respectively.
In terms of some of the newest routes announced, Sky Angkor Airlines said it would offer direct flights between Siem Reap Angkor International Airport to Incheon, Korea in December 2024 (it looks like this has been delayed to January 2025), ASIANA Airlines was due to launch direct flights from Incheon to SAI the same month (but these flights don't appear online so we assume its also been delayed), while IndiaGo has confirmed to add direct flights to Siem Reap which are expected to launch in February 2025 between Kolkata and SIA.
- Estimated Cost - Siem Reap Angkor International Airport - US $1 billion
- Estimated Operations - Launched in November 2023
Sihanoukville Airport remains operational, while the status of proposed airports in Mondulkiri and Battambang seems to be in limbo even though agreements have been announced previously for feasibility studies and potential developers being appointed.
Cambodian Tourism Data 2024
There seems to be conflicting data reported on the total number of visitors and tourists to Cambodia in 2024, so perhaps we will know more early in 2025 about the actual numbers. They undoubtedly will be greater than in 2023 but question marks remain over whether they will surpass the 2019 levels pre-pandemic.
The number of passengers who entered Cambodia’s three international airports between January and the end of October 2024 was 4.7 million (compared to 4.2 million over the same period in 2023) according to the SCCA, and they are projecting a 67 per cent growth in air traffic for this year compared to 2019.
However, the data from VINCI Airports suggests that although 2024 levels are up compared to 2023, they still lag 2019 numbers by as much as 38 per cent.
More than 30 international and domestic airlines link Cambodia to eight countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), China, South Korea, India, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, among others.