Officials from the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation (SSCA) and other stakeholders inspect the ongoing work at Techo International Airport. SSCA
The first phase of the construction of Techo International Airport (TIA) is currently in its final stages of technical inspection and assessments. The airport is expected to begin operations in the second week of July. When phase one opens, the airport will have the initial capacity of handling around 15 million passengers per year.
Construction began in January 2020, with an estimated investment of $1.5 billion (excluding land costs). The project is a public-private partnership, with 90% of the investment coming from private company OCIC and 10% from the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation (SSCA). Techo International Airport is a greenfield airport, built on a total area of 2,600 hectares, about 19 kilometres south of Phnom Penh.
The 4F-category large-scale international airport is designed to accommodate large aircraft such as the Airbus A380-800 and Boeing 747-800. The airport is being developed in three phases, Phase 1 (2020–2030) will handle 15 million passengers/year, Phase 2 (2030–2050) will see capacity grow to 30 million and Phase 3 (after 2050) will reach 45 million.
Sinn Chanserey Vutha, secretary of state and spokesperson for the SSCA, told The Post on May 5 that the first phase of construction and final technical inspections are nearly complete and expected to conclude soon. As of April 28, approximately 96% of the work had been completed. If there are no changes, the airport will begin commercial operations (although not yet be officially inaugurated) in the second week of July, when it will welcome both domestic and international passengers.
He added that on May 2, Mao Havannall, Minister in charge of the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation, chaired a meeting of the steering committee responsible for managing and coordinating preparations for the airport's operations. During the meeting, senior officials, technical teams from the SSCA, committee members and various technical staff reviewed construction progress and key technical issues to ensure readiness for operational launch.
“If there are no changes, Techo International Airport will begin operations on July 10. We are now in the final inspection phase, where the committee is reviewing readiness based on the criteria required for licensing and operational launch. The target date of July 10 is under technical evaluation to determine if it is feasible,” he explained.
“Construction is nearly complete, but what we are now monitoring closely is compliance with the technical conditions required for certification and operational readiness,” he added.
Charles Vann, director of Cambodia Airport Investment Co., Ltd. (CAIC), previously stated that once Techo International Airport begins operations, all services from Phnom Penh International Airport will be transferred to the new airport, and the old airport will be shut down.
Chea Chandara, president of the Logistics and Supply Chain Business Association in Cambodia (Loscba), told The Post that Techo International Airport will contribute significantly to improving accessibility and attracting more tourists and foreign investors to Cambodia. He believed the new facility will likely increase air traffic and accommodate larger aircraft than before. As transportation volume increases, shipping costs are also expected to decrease.
“There will be more direct flights from distant destinations using large aircraft to Cambodia, and both passenger and cargo transportation will increase,” he said.
The SSCA recently reported that Cambodia’s three international airports (Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Preah Sihanouk) experienced a notable increase in air traffic in 2024. The total number of inbound and outbound (two-way) flights reached 58,354, a 14% increase over 2023, while the number of inbound and outbound passengers reached 6,241,842, a 22% increase. Air cargo throughput reached 77,752 tonnes, a 40% increase.
