A major new airport to serve Cambodia's capital and boost tourism is due to open in July

KANDAL, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia expects that its new airport serving the capital will open in July, a project official said Friday, in a major step forward in boosting the country's lucrative tourism sector, whose growth was interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Work on Phnom Penh’s new airport, officially known as the Techo International Airport, began in 2019, covering an area of 2,600 hectares (6,425 acres) located at the border of Kandal and Takeo provinces, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of the capital.

“I think the TIA airport here is going to be launched in the soft opening in July 2025, and we believe that so many passengers are waiting and they really want to come in to see this new airport,” said Charles Vann, director of the airport’s project steering committee, during a media tour.

The new airport is a $1.5 billion joint venture between the Cambodian government and the Overseas Cambodian Investment Corp. It's being built by the China Construction Third Engineering Bureau Group Co., Ltd.

The architects for the airport are the British firm Foster + Partners, whose website says its “design embodies a strong sense of place" and is "responsive to the tropical climate.” The terminal building sits under what is described as a single overarching roof canopy that is a lightweight steel grid shell, “with an innovative screen that filters daylight and illuminates the vast terminal space.”

Construction is being undertaken in three phases. Initially, the airport is expected to be capable of handling up to 13 million passengers a year, with capacity increased up to 30 million passengers after 2030, and then up to 50 million passengers in 2050.

It will be the second major airport in Cambodia to open in the space of two years. In 2023, the Chinese-financed Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport began operations in the northwestern province of Siem Reap, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) east of the centuries-old Angkor Wat temple complex, the country’s major tourist attraction.

Tourism is one of the main pillars supporting Cambodia’s economy. According to the Ministry of Tourism, Cambodia received around 6.7 million international tourists in 2024, a 23% increase over 2023.

A Cambodian symbolizing of millionaire house places in front of an under a construction of a new airport of Techo International Airport at the outskirts of Phnom Penh Cambodia, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Cambodian workers work inside under a construction of a new airport of Techo International Airport at the outskirts of Phnom Penh Cambodia, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Cambodian workers work inside an under construction of a new airport of Techo International Airport at the outskirts of Phnom Penh Cambodia, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

An overview in front an under construction of a new airport of Techo International Airport at the outskirts of Phnom Penh Cambodia, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

An overview from beside of parking airplane of an under construction of a new airport of Techo International Airport at the outskirts of Phnom Penh Cambodia, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Cambodian workers work inside under a construction of a new airport of Techo International Airport at the outskirts of Phnom Penh Cambodia, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

A worker paint a sign inside an under construction of a new airport of Techo International Airport at the outskirts of Phnom Penh Cambodia, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

An overview from beside of parking in front an under construction of a new airport of Techo International Airport at the outskirts of Phnom Penh Cambodia, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

An overview from beside of an under construction of a new airport of Techo International Airport at the outskirts of Phnom Penh Cambodia, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Airport staff members test the luggage machine inside an under construction of a new airport of Techo International Airport at the outskirts of Phnom Penh Cambodia, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Airport staff members test the luggage machine inside an under construction of a new airport of Techo International Airport at the outskirts of Phnom Penh Cambodia, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Cambodian journalists visit inside an under construction of a new airport of Techo International Airport at the outskirts of Phnom Penh Cambodia, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

A view inside an under construction of a new airport of Techo International Airport at the outskirts of Phnom Penh Cambodia, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Cambodian visit an under construction of a new airport of Techo International Airport at the outskirts of Phnom Penh Cambodia, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Cambodian workers work inside an under construction of a new airport of Techo International Airport at the outskirts of Phnom Penh Cambodia, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday.

A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.

Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defenses shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.

For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv and NATO.

The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his nightly address that Ukrainian negotiators “continue to communicate with the American side.”

Chief negotiator Rustem Umerov was in contact with U.S. partners Saturday, he said.

Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia targeted Ukraine with 154 drones overnight into Sunday and 125 were shot down.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, listens to British Defense Secretary John Healey during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)