Cambodia on Thursday inaugurated its newest and biggest airport, a Chinese-financed project meant to serve as an upgraded gateway to the country’s major tourist attraction, the centuries-old Angkor Wat temple complex in the northwestern province of Siem Reap.
The Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport is located on 700 hectares (1,730 acres) of land about 40 kilometers (25 miles) east of Angkor Wat and boasts a 3,600-metre long runway. It can handle 7 million passengers a year, with plans to augment it to handle 12 million passengers annually from 2040. The airport began operations October 16, with the first flight to land coming from neighbouring Thailand.
