Cambodia reopens coastal town's airport in hopes of boosting tourism

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) - The airport at Sihanoukville, Cambodia's main coastal city, has reopened with hopes high that it will further spur travel and the country's burgeoning tourism industry. A Soviet-made Antonov-24 plane belonging to a locally owned airline company landed at the Sihanoukville airport following an opening ceremony Jan. 13, said Norinda Khek, spokesman for Societe Concessionnaire des Aeroports, or SCA, a subsidiary of the French construction group Vinci.

He said the plane flew from Siem Reap province, Cambodia's main tourist hub, and that it carried 11 passengers, who were airline staff flying on the promotional trip. It was the first landing at the airport in the last three years, he added.

The airport had been closed for reconstruction.

The airport, located about 185 kilometres southwest of the capital Phnom Penh, is expected to serve as the first air link between Sihanoukville and Siem Reap, home to the famous Angkor temples, deputy tourism minister Thong Khon said.

He said he hoped the airport's reopening would encourage tourists to extend their stay to enjoy Cambodia's sandy beaches after touring the temples.

"This is part of our strategy in linking the two tourist destinations," he said, adding that 1.7 million tourists visited Cambodia last year, about a 20 per cent increase over 2005.

Tourism has become a major source of income for the cash-strapped Southeast Asian country.

Norinda Khek said that the airport will host only domestic flights because its mile-long (1.6-km) runway can accommodate only propeller planes.

But he said the company plans to extend the runway to 1.4 miles (2 1/4 kilometres) to handle jet aircraft by the end of the year.

© The Canadian Press, 2007