Cambodia’s newest and biggest airport opened to commercial operations in the province of Siem Reap in the country’s northwest this week.

The China-funded Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport is now the main gateway to one of the country’s most popular tourist sites, the UNESCO-listed Angkor Archaeological Complex.

On Monday morning, a flight operated by Thailand’s Bangkok Airways was the first to land at the new airport, which is located about 40 kilometers away from the protected area.

Using the International Air Transport Association-designated code SAI, it replaces Siem Reap International Airport (REP), which first opened in 1932 and is only a few kilometers away from the Angkor complex.

The new airport, funded by China as part of its Belt and Road Initiative at a cost of about US$1.1 billion, was designed to initially handle 7 million passengers a year — 2 million more than REP — and has a 3,600-meter-long runway.

According to the Economic and Commercial Office of the Chinese Embassy in Cambodia, it’s the first overseas international airport to be constructed under a “Build-Operate-Transfer” model by Chinese enterprises and is operated and managed by the Yunnan Aviation Industry Investment Group. Designated a “4E airport,” it can accommodate larger commercial planes, including many of those used on global long-haul routes.

Construction began in 2020, with the airport design reportedly inspired by the traditional Cambodian architecture style.

Recent data released by Cambodia’s Ministry of Tourism reveals the country received 3.5 million international tourists in the first eight months of 2023.

That’s an increase of 250.8% over the same period last year, but a decrease of 19.7% over 2019, before the country closed its borders because of the pandemic. Cambodia relaxed its COVID entry restrictions and reopened to tourists in March 2022. The country is on track to receive approximately 4.5 to 5 million international tourists by the end of this year, says the ministry.

Many of those visitors head to Siem Reap to experience the Angkor complex, which is one of the most important archaeological sites in Southeast Asia, according to the UNESCO inscription.

Stretching over 400 square kilometers, the park contains the remains of the different capitals of the Khmer Empire, from the 9th to the 15th century. But only a handful of its sites — namely Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom and the Bayon — receive the bulk of tourist traffic.

(SD-Agencies)

Words to Learn 相关词汇

【长途】chángtú long-haul long-distance

【大部分】dàbùfen the bulk of most of

柬埔寨最新、最大的机场本周在该国西北部的暹粒省投入商业运营。

由中国投资兴建的暹粒吴哥国际机场现已成为通往吴哥古迹的主要门户。吴哥古迹群是柬埔寨最受欢迎的旅游景点之一，被联合国教科文组织列入《世界文化遗产名录》。

周一上午，新机场迎来第一架飞机，是泰国曼谷航空公司的航班。该机场距离吴哥古迹约 40 公里。

国际航空运输协会指定的新机场代码是SAI，新机场取代了1932年启用的暹粒国际机场 (REP)，后者距离吴哥古迹仅几公里之遥。

作为“一带一路”倡议的一部分，新机场跑道长3600米，由中国出资建设，投资额约11亿美元，设计年旅客吞吐量在机场启用初期为 700万人次，比旧机场多200万人次。

据中国驻柬埔寨大使馆经济商务处介绍，这是首个由中国企业采用 “建设、运营、移交”（BOT）模式在海外建设的国际机场，由云南航空产业投资集团负责运营管理。该机场为4E 机场，可起降大型商用飞机，包括许多国际长途航线使用的飞机。

机场2020年开工建设，其设计灵感来自柬埔寨传统建筑风格。

柬埔寨旅游部最近公布的数据显示，2023年前八个月该国接待了350万国际游客，比去年同期增长了250.8%，但比2019年减少了19.7%，当时柬埔寨因新冠肺炎疫情关闭了边境。2022年3月，柬埔寨放松了疫情管控入境限制，重新向游客开放。旅游部表示，到今年年底，柬埔寨预计接待约450万至500万国际游客。

许多游客会前往暹粒体验吴哥古迹群，联合国教科文组织称这里是东南亚最重要的考古遗址之一。

吴哥遗址公园绵延 400多平方公里，是高棉帝国从9到15世纪不同时期的都城遗迹。但只有小吴哥（吴哥窟）、大吴哥（吴哥王城）和巴戎寺等少数几个遗址吸引了大量游客。

(Translated by Debra)