Pol Pot-Era Airbase Earmarked as Future Tourist Gateway

Prime Minister Hun Sen said Saturday that in order to manage future tourist numbers, the government will construct a new international airport on the site of the Kampong Chhnang airbase, which was built by slave labor during the Khmer Rouge regime. Mr. Hun Sen said that construction of the new airport, to serve commercial, military and cargo air traffic, will begin between 2025 and 2030, when tourist arrivals are expected to reach seven million people each year. ... Mr. Hun Sen, who will be seeking re-election next July, did not say how the airport and rail mega-projects will be funded, though he did warn families living on 768 hectares of land near to the airport to refrain from building permanent structures. ...