The government has commissioned a Chinese consortium to build a new international airport for Siem Reap, and formed a committee to determine how to compensate Cambodia Airports, the French company that operates the city’s exiting airport, for prematurely terminating its concession license, according to documents obtained by Phnom Penh Post yesterday. The agreement, signed between Cambodian government and Chinese state-run Yunnan Investment Holdings Ltd (YIHL), grants a joint investment consortium formed by YIHL, the Yunnan Construction Investment Group and the Yunnan Airport Group an exclusive 55-year build, operate, transfer (BOT) concession on a new $88mn airport to be located about 50 kilometers outside Siem Reap’s provincial capital of Sonikum. Construction is expected to take three years, and the plan is to build a 4E class airport, with the possibility of expanding to 4F compliance, which means the airport could receive larger long-haul aircraft. (Source: Phnom Penh Post)