Yunnan Investment Holdings Ltd (YIHL), the Chinese state-run company that plans to build Siem Reap’s new international airport, will begin construction next year and over the course of three phases, Sinn Chanserey Vutha, spokesman of the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation, confirmed yesterday.

The company will invest $500 million into the first and second phase, and $300 million for the third phase. The airport should take two to three years to complete, Vutha said, adding the company was currently clearing the 750 hectares of land that sits 50 kilometres away from Siem Reap.