Cambodia Airports, a company majority-owned by France’s Vinci Group, officially inaugurated its $26 million new arrivals hall and the extension of its boarding concourse yesterday at the Phnom Penh International Airport.

Nicolas Notebaert, CEO of VINCI Concessions and chairman of VINCI Airports, said the expanded 10,000-square-metre arrivals hall, with two new conveyor belts for baggage, will help enhance the quality of service for airport users. He noted that the expansion also includes two new additional boarding gates for domestic departures.

“With this investment program, we want to keep pace with traffic growth and bolster our airport capacity,” he said. “Along with the network’s two other airports, Phnom Penh international Airport is fully prepared to accommodate the 7 million visitors expected in Cambodia by year 2020 and beyond.”

In 2016, the number of passengers going through Cambodia’s three international airports totalled more than 7 million, with Phnom Penh and Siem Reap airports providing nearly 500 regular flights per week.

Even though Cambodia’s airports cannot compete with countries like Singapore and Thailand, Sinan Thourn, chairman of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), said that the Kingdom needs to keep upgrading its facilities to manage future growth.

“Even though our airports do not have huge facilities, we need to make sure that tourists find that our airports are convenient and provide good services,” he said, adding that as more arrivals fly in, Cambodia needs to focus on expanding and enhancing its tourism products.