Mondulkiri Airport Approved in Principle

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The Cambodian government has approved in principle the development of a new Mondulkiri Airport in the Kingdom’s northeast with a Chinese company, Powerchina International Group, selected as its partner on the project.

Mondulkiri Airport Cambodia
Photo Credit: Construction.property.com

On the final day of 2020, the partnership in the form of a public-private partnership (PPP) is reported to have been approved and signed by the Council of Ministers’ Permanent Secretary of State Hing Thoraxy.

Powerchina will start with studying and development of the proposal for the construction of the airport reported local media. The State Secretariat of Civil Aviation (SSCA) will carry out the feasibility study but Powerchina will cover the costs.

At this stage, the SCCA could not give more details on the airport plans or the total costs of the project.

In mid-2020, Mondulkiri provincial authorities had announced they were marking the boundaries of a 600ha portion of land, situated 22km from Sen Monorom town in O’Raing district’s, to build a new Monulkiri airport.

At the time, the Secretariat Of Civil Aviation (SCCA) estimated a new airport would be built on an area of ​​300 hectares and is estimated to cost more than USD $60 million. At the time, it was believed the new airport would have an 1800-metre runway.

Mondulkiri as a tourist destination

Mondulkiri provincial Department of Tourism director Ngin Sovimean said: “Mondulkiri is a natural tourist destination, so although the number of international visitors has decreased significantly, the province welcomed a total of 11,004 tourists over the three days from December 31, 2020 to January 2, 2021.”

Mondulkiri has also been designated by the Cambodian government as the Kingdom’s fourth economic pole, following Phnom Penh and the provinces of Preah Sihanouk and Siem Reap reports the Phnom Penh Post.

Cambodian Airports

The SSCA claims between 2015 and 2023, total investment in new airports, infrastructure and airspace in Cambodia will be approximately USD $3.5 billion.

In December 2020, a technical working group was also set up and being lead by the SCAA to look at renovating the abandoned Battambang Airport.

Read more about all Cambodian airports here.

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