A Russian-made Antonov (AN-24) airplane landing at the Kang Keng Airport (Photo: Ta Som, Koh Santepheap newspaper)Wednesday, January 17, 2007
By Laurent Le Gouanvic
Cambodge Soir
Translated from French by Luc Sâr
Small fish will one day become big … The Kang Keng (Sihanoukville) airport which slowly started its operation Monday morning with the opening of a first regular flight by PMT airline linking Siem Reap and Sihanoukville, three times a week, should grow rapidly thanks to tourism and industrial development of the seaside city, at least that was what the local authorities and the directors of the Societe Concessionnaire des Aeroports (SCA) – which in charge of this infrastructure between June 2006 and 2040 – are hoping for.
Vincent Piron, the strategy and investment department director for the Vinci Concessions firm (principal owner of SCA) and SCA vice-president, is even more direct: “The Sihanoukville airport will be the No. 1 airport in Cambodia in 15 to 20 years,” he affirmed. “This airport will be called to play a very important role. The goal is to make it such that Cambodia will become a tourist destination in itself, and not just a secondary destination. For that, two activities options must be provided to tourists: archeological sites in Siem Reap, and seaside in Sihanoukville,” Piron said.
In the first phase, the SCA direction is betting on domestic flights with Siem Reap, the current 1,800-meter long runway could welcome, in addition to the Antonov plane operated by PMT, ATR and Y8-type planes. At the end of 2007, the runway will be extended to 2,200-meter long for regional flights accommodating Boeing 737 type airplanes. “For the first phase, until 2011, we plan on investing $70 to 80 million,” Piron said. Gradually, within a decade, there will be between 5 to 10 million passengers per year who can transit through this airport, Piron estimates, and long-flight airplanes such as Boeing B-747 could also land there. This growth will be based on the number of Asian visitors, in particular those from China and India, who should represent about 95% of the total number of foreign visitors, Piron added.
Thong Khon, the State Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism, also base his hopes on the “connection between the cruise ships docking in Sihanoukville, and the visits to Siem Reap.” Between 2005 and 2006, the number of cruise ship passengers visiting Sihanoukville has more than quadrupled, reaching more than 16,000 arrivals and departures, Lou Kim Chhun, CEO of the Autonomous Sihanoukville Port, boasted. He plans to see this year new developments in order to better welcome tourists.
These hopes are also based on the industrial growth, along with the development of 70-hectare of special economic zone and oil exploration. “We are expecting a lot of oil,” Piron stressed. “It is likely that the airport will be called to play an important role, in particular for the transit of equipment parts.” Lou Kim Chhun added that from now on, Sihanoukville could attract these busy investors who can travel to the seaport city in a few hours by plane.”
Vincent Piron, the strategy and investment department director for the Vinci Concessions firm (principal owner of SCA) and SCA vice-president, is even more direct: “The Sihanoukville airport will be the No. 1 airport in Cambodia in 15 to 20 years,” he affirmed. “This airport will be called to play a very important role. The goal is to make it such that Cambodia will become a tourist destination in itself, and not just a secondary destination. For that, two activities options must be provided to tourists: archeological sites in Siem Reap, and seaside in Sihanoukville,” Piron said.
In the first phase, the SCA direction is betting on domestic flights with Siem Reap, the current 1,800-meter long runway could welcome, in addition to the Antonov plane operated by PMT, ATR and Y8-type planes. At the end of 2007, the runway will be extended to 2,200-meter long for regional flights accommodating Boeing 737 type airplanes. “For the first phase, until 2011, we plan on investing $70 to 80 million,” Piron said. Gradually, within a decade, there will be between 5 to 10 million passengers per year who can transit through this airport, Piron estimates, and long-flight airplanes such as Boeing B-747 could also land there. This growth will be based on the number of Asian visitors, in particular those from China and India, who should represent about 95% of the total number of foreign visitors, Piron added.
Thong Khon, the State Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism, also base his hopes on the “connection between the cruise ships docking in Sihanoukville, and the visits to Siem Reap.” Between 2005 and 2006, the number of cruise ship passengers visiting Sihanoukville has more than quadrupled, reaching more than 16,000 arrivals and departures, Lou Kim Chhun, CEO of the Autonomous Sihanoukville Port, boasted. He plans to see this year new developments in order to better welcome tourists.
These hopes are also based on the industrial growth, along with the development of 70-hectare of special economic zone and oil exploration. “We are expecting a lot of oil,” Piron stressed. “It is likely that the airport will be called to play an important role, in particular for the transit of equipment parts.” Lou Kim Chhun added that from now on, Sihanoukville could attract these busy investors who can travel to the seaport city in a few hours by plane.”
3 comments:
Yes, I am very optimistic for this
project. However, I anticipated
faster growth. In 20, I can
visualized to growth will spreaded
and covered a good part of this
quadrant of the country.
Last but not least, let us remember
to keep our beautifull beaches
and lands clean and free of
pollutant.
Chinese and Indians respresent "about 95% of the total number of foreign visitors"? Mr. Piron is overly optimistic of all his numbers. I would be glad to see half of it fulfill.
True, I can't guarantee my
prediction to anyone. I based my
finding from observing Siam Reap
and Phnom Penh and take into
consideration the experience that
we have in the tourism insdustry
so far.
But sure, half (as you stated) is
still great to me and I promise
not criticize anyone for that.
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