In October, the Cambodian government reached an agreement with China’s state-run Yunnan Investment Holdings Ltd (YIHL) to build a new $880 million airport to serve Siem Reap, the Phnom Penh Post reports.
The Cambodian government says it is ready to begin negotiations on compensation after stripping a French company of its concession to operate Siem Reap’s international airport, while planning is underway for a new Chinese-operated airport to serve the provincial capital.
In October, the Cambodian government reached an agreement with China’s state-run Yunnan Investment Holdings Ltd (YIHL) to build a new $880 million airport to serve Siem Reap, the Phnom Penh Post reports.
The agreement gave YIHL and its construction and airport management subsidiaries an exclusive 55-year build, operate, transfer (BOT) concession on the new airport, replacing the current exclusive agreement with Cambodia Airports, a company majority-owned by France’s Vinci Group, which was set to expire in 2040.
A senior government minister said the government informed Cambodia Airports late last year that it was prepared to discuss compensation and was awaiting its response.
Cambodia Airports operates international airports in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Sihanoukville under a 45-year concession dating back to 1995. The company recently spent US$100 million upgrading its terminals in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap.