Cambodia’s Techo International Airport, the country’s largest aviation infrastructure project, opened to the public last month in the capital Phnom Penh.
It was developed by a joint venture of Cambodia’s civil aviation authority (CAIC) and the Overseas Cambodian Investment Corporation. It can accommodate 15 million passengers a year in its first phase.
Vinci Airports, Lagardère Travel Retail, Newrest and Singapore Airlines Engineering Company are overseeing airport management, retail, catering and aircraft maintenance.
UK architect Foster + Partners’ design for the airport references Angkorian traditions, with structural “trees” inspired by Cambodia’s national flower, the rumduol.
The terminal building comprises a central structure with two aerofoil shaped piers either side.
It has all the passenger processing, security and retail elements under a single roof canopy supported by structural trees.
These span 36m and support a lightweight steel grid shell, the latest iteration of a structural approach Foster pioneered at the UK’s Stansted Airport in 1991. This version comes with a screen that filters daylight to light the interior.
Foster + Partners unveiled the design in 2024, when it also announced it would design an adjacent airport city.
Pung Kheav Se, CAIC chairman, said: “It creates new opportunities for Cambodia — for visitors, businesses, and investors — and marks the beginning of a new chapter for our country.”
During the airport’s first operational month, it opened two new routes and accommodated Cathay Pacific’s fleet during Typhoon Ragasa.
In 2024, Cambodia invited South Korea to invest in a 10-year infrastructure improvement programme worth $37bn, which included Techo International.
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