A brand new airport for Phnom Penh is to be constructed in a yet to be disclosed location, a senior official told a meeting of villagers living around Phnom Penh International Airport, in an attempt to put an end to the dispute over planned expansion of the present airport.

New international airport on table as PPIA expansion plans halted
Wed, 22 June 2016
Pech Sotheary

A senior government minister yesterday announced a halt to plans to expand the Phnom Penh International Airport, and instead revived talk of a new airport altogether, mentioning plans to identify a location 30 to 40 kilometres outside the city in hopes of completing the new airport by 2025.

Officials, however, remained tight-lipped about the details of the project yesterday. The announcement was made at the Por Sen Chey District Hall during a meeting between the Council of Ministers and some of the 600 families living in five villages near the airport that were slated to be affected by the expansion. The families had been protesting the ongoing land dispute, which had languished for about four years.

Senior Minister Yem Nolla, director of the economic, social and cultural council, told attendees that the government had decided to keep the security and safety zone of the airport intact without any campus extensions.

We “cannot extend [the airport], so the people have no problems, and please don’t worry about it”, he said.

“The government will build a new airport,” he added, before asking: “Build it in what location? I don’t know.”

In 2012, Prime Minister HE requisitioned 768 hectares of land that were slated to be used to build a long-discussed international airport in Kampong Chhnang after 2025.

The planned Kampong Chhnang site was close to 100 kilometres from Phnom Penh – farther away than the 30 to 40 kilometres cited by Nolla – and the idea seemingly died on the vine.

Sinn Sereyvuth, spokesman for the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation, said yesterday that the plan mentioned by Nolla is part of a “new initiative” for the government’s long-term vision...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/n ... ans-halted

Lots of vacant land about 20 km south of the city on both sides of the road, and near the Prime Ministers head quarters. If he has any say in the matter that's where it will be.

Get ready for those jumbos, flying hipsters in by the load.

They have been in touch with the Thai generals and high ups in Thailand that made money from building Big Swamping in Bangkok. Oh how the money rolls in. Is there any swamp land that a connected official can buy to build this on?

Don't get overexcited. Same announcement was made for SR few years ago.
How many years left on CAMS national exclusive concession ? I doubt they just did massive work on Ponchetong terminal if there were only 9 years remaining.
A new airport might be planned but 2025 isn't realistic. 2035 at least.

Can't they just run a very fast train from KLIA2?

Kompong Chanang and a very fast train is not going to happen, they will just stick with small jets into Pochentong.

From the article it sounds like the announcement of a new airport location is more about shutting up the protesting population until the elections, rather than a real plan to move the airport. No expansion, no need for people to worry :

We “cannot extend [the airport], so the people have no problems, and please don’t worry about it”, he said.

But eventually something will have to be done about the airport, as buildings go up around it and it becomes locked into urban PP.

A new airport will not be built in Kampong Speu, the PM announced yesterday. As an expert on airport planning, he has decided that the terrain is not suitable. Meanwhile the governor of Kampong Speu has resigned himself to not being famous.

Prime Minister HE yesterday nixed a proposal to build an airport in Kampong Speu, saying he disagreed with the idea, the province’s governor said yesterday.

The premier took the decision at a meeting with provincial officials yesterday, said Kampong Speu governor Vei Samnang. Samnang said he shared the proposal – which he said had been made by Vinci Airports – with HE, who rejected it, citing the mountainous nature of the province, which would make it difficult to land aircraft.

“Prime Minister HE said that those who did the study about the airport plan were not right, so there is no plan to build the airport now,” he said.

While the national government was unaware of the plan, Samnang said Vinci Airports held a meeting with provincial authorities in June floating the proposal, while at the same also looking at five other provinces to build an airport.

“I just wanted my province to be famous,” Samnang said. “That is why I wanted to have the airport here.”...

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/n ... -tells-gov