Thursday, December 16, 2010
By Jenara Nerenberg
Fast Company
The New Siem Reap International Airport is breaking ground next year, backed by South Koreans.
How do you say "aerotropolis" in Khmer? Looks like we're about to find out.
Cambodia will begin construction on its very own airport city next year--the New Siem Reap International Airport, with an adjacent special economic zone, dry port, and 15.4 square mile city--to capitalize on increasing tourist numbers from neighboring countries and increasing foreign investment interest.
The airport will be completed in five and a half years at a cost of $1 billion and the contracted South Korean-Cambodian joint venture, NSRIA Co. Ltd., will operate it for 65 years. The airport, 25 miles east of Angkor Wat, will accommodate 747s, allowing direct flights to arrive from Europe and North America.
An airport city such as Cambodia's fits the label of an aerotropolis--a planned city with an airport as its central node and related infrastructure, businesses, and working families surrounding it. An Aerotropolis thus becomes an engine of local economic development, something Cambodia is desperately in need of.
"It doesn't matter how much they spend on the project, or how much expertise the South Korean investors bring to bear. What matters is how many flights a day the airport has, and to where," says Fast Company contributor and author of the forthcoming book, Aerotropolis: The Way We'll Live Next, Greg Lindsay.
"There's a saying that 'airlines don't serve airports; they serve markets,' meaning they want to go where passengers already are," says Lindsay. "In this case, the tourist draw of Angkor Wat could be a big help and considering the United Nations' World Tourism Organization expects China to have 100 million outbound tourists a year by 2020, Cambodia is probably trying to snag a few million."
Cambodia hopes that its very own aerotropolis will help spur local economic development, via foreign investment and the appeal of cheap labor. But the question remains whether there will be enough numbers flying in and out of the country. This year the country saw 2.3 million visitors, but the annual capacity of the new airport will be 15 million, leaving a huge gap to be filled. Where will all the tourists and foreign investors come from?
"With enough flights and enough connectivity, anything is possible," Lindsay tells Fast Company. "The likely model for Cambodia's aerotropolis is Subic Bay in the Philippines, which transformed the former U.S. Navy base into a fairly large high-tech manufacturing zone in the 1990s after FedEx opened its pan-Asian hub there."
As Cambodia is increasingly in competition with its neighbors--namely Vietnam, as well as China, where the first Kashgar-Pakistan cargo flight was just launched this week--it's likely that the country wants to secure its current standing among tourists and its future standing in the realm of trade.
"Vietnam is building its own massive new international airport outside Ho Chi Minh City and Bangkok tried to build its own aerotropolis in 2006, only to be derailed by political turmoil," Lindsay points out. "Can Cambodia succeed in winning a piece for themselves? Who knows, but they're certainly willing to try."
22 comments:
Nobody can predict the future and it is better doing it!
ye, bring more Koreans and White perverts come to fuck our virgin teens
Build it and they will come.
Although I would hate to live and work near a busy airport-- so noisy.
Sam raisy KI and other SRP newpaper are very disorganized. how they call themselve a great team work they are piece of shite. Sam rainsy you are absoulttly idoit every disorgnise I Rainsy you never achieved anythings in life nothing, you have to change yur cheapese stratergy. how people going to believe you, you are master of complain, Criticising, and spread hatreat, you are very hopless man, Rainsy is a very madness man
If this is a dream come true, Cambodia would be a place where most will be envied. Under Samdech Hun Sen's leadership and his future son whom educated in England and US, would bring more investors into Cambodia. I congratulate you on a job well done Your Excellency.
Former Opposition Supporter
X-MEN
To 12:08AM
I have to agree with you on this base on my observation because most pedophiles and child molesters got off the hook from AH Hun Sen jungle law!
Cambodia is a pervert country including its leader AH HUN SEN for stealing another man wife and killing her!
Cambodia can't afford to be another Thailand or Philippine! Please don’t make Cambodia into another pervert country!
Soon Cambodia is a place for tourist's pussies. stating with Hun Sen's grand daughters.
Pussy....pussy.... anybody want na buy young Cambodian pussy ? 5USD per Hour or 50USD per day.
It is so true the South Korean never finish building anything in Cambodia! For example, the CamKo City? The New Phnom Phen City? Oh please!
This is just another pipe dream promoted by AH HUN SEN for his economic miracle!
By the way in Cambodia, If you are talking about constructions or what have you in dealing with construction such houses, roads, sewage system...they are fucking doing it without careful planning of the future accommodation. It is just full of ran away construction and chaotic at best which cost many Cambodian life every years due to bad construction such roads, bridges, sewage system… and the lack of sewage system which effect Cambodian people health.
It is up to the next generation to blow up and destroy it and lay down a new foundation base on more advance design which incorporates water, power, communication, better roads and bridges... which promote safety, health, and peace of mind! In the long run, Cambodia must have indigenous design and local expertise to drive down the cost of any construction!
Welcome to HUN SEN airport...
Tallest air traffic controller tower 555 in the world. Those Choppers of Private Party are free of charge those landed on top of the tower.
What word of "economic zone" is only use by the communist countries like China and Vietnam. Cambodia is small country with 14 millions people but we have a lot of "economic zone" and also four international airports (PP, Kg. Chhnang, Kg. Som and Siem Reap). Germany with 82 millions people has only 3 international airports, but Cambodia 4 international airports vow that is great. The question is what is the airport product? is PKM/TKM? . Maybe next come the word of "Sex zone" ? and maybe need also the own international airport? Where they get carosin for aircrafts landing there? Maybe from Tonle Sap?
The best for Cambodia we need as international airport only Phnom Penh and esp. Kampong Chhnang where we can create the "economic zone" because there has a lot of land free and best geographical place for the country and from there we can share out the economic potential in the whole country and also as HUB for freight/PAX in south East asia contra the busiest airport in Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand and .....
Thong Chhay
Thanks for saying that South Korean...not North Korean
This will create jobs and bring money to that area faster. If the government dont fuck up this time...Sok An and Hun shit.
Siemp Reap will the Hot Spot in Cambodia near future.. not Phnom Penh anymore. That pissed smell at king house...........and F the governor and official that dont want to build shit in Phnom Penh.
It is good to see that happened as planned.It is, indeed,a need for international standard Airport in Siem Reap to expand more infrastructure and economy benefited from tourism.
However,there has been increasingly shortage of water in the region,which would pose a high risk of collapse of Angkor.
Any plan to cope with massive expansion,population growth?
Better planning required,after a human disaster of Koh Pich.Easily to get lured to big picture,but bigger and better management also ought to be considered and APPLIED.
So please,ease controlling but try to keep things under the control RGC.These are two different concepts.
Good luck!
Peasant
You dumb fuck (con-khi)people never learn it's doesn't matter which way it is!you're never happy until loose it all 2 vc.
it's about time that cambodia gets a state of the art aerotropolis like this. yes, we'd like cambodia to be able to land long haul, direct flights from north america, europe, etc... right now, our aiports are small, although modern. we have to get a huge airports going in cambodia in the near future. this way, all the world's people and countries will have a choice to fly directly into cambodia without extra charge for stopover in other regional airports. yes, it's about time cambodia gets a huge airport. god bless cambodia.
Don't worry it gonna belong to Vietcong anyway if we don't change the regime on time. But what can Khmer beside foreigner helps we can do shit beside slave to ah Youn.
There has shortage of water around Angkor Wat. That could pose a dangerous risk of collapse of Angkor.
The govenment must take this issue as a top priority to discuss in Congress and Senate as well as in schools around the country.
Act now before too late. Other wise, Hun Sen, Heng Samrin, Chea Sim, Tep Vong will be a group to destroy Ankor Wat.
Kaun Khmer Ankor
I don't think the Cambodian aerotropolis doesn't look like the one in the picture and if it does and there is some serious flaw design here! By looking at the roads and most roads lead to a dead-end street! And only one circular street handles all the traffic from four major streets which will create far more traffic congestion than I can imagine! Go back to the drawing board!
65 years is too long, what is the concrete and other infrastructure age? Or return to government a scrap metal or building.
don't know how many people have lost money on the Camko City and Golden Tower projects
build big, cambodia, stop building small airports from now on!
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