Renovation work at Preah Sihanouk International Airport, including the expansion of its runway, is expected to be completed this year.

The renovations are designed to increase the capacity for arriving passengers, Cambodia Air communications and public relations director Khek Norinda said on Wednesday.

He told The Post that the extension and full renovation of the airport’s runway is progressing on schedule. “It is expected to be commissioned by mid-July this year,” he said.

State Secretariat of Civil Aviation (SSCA) spokesman Sin Chansereyvutha told The Post on Wednesday that SSCA secretary of state Mao Havannal had met with the CEO of Cambodia Airports, Alain Brun, to discuss accelerating the Preah Sihanouk international airport project.

“The airports’ runway is expanding from 2,500m to 3,300m. We are also renovating some old buildings that the company will use as a new passenger terminal.

“Between 2020 and 2030 we plan to welcome 3.6 million passengers after the first phase of the project. In the second phase, we plan to welcome five million passengers, which will happen by 2040.

“This airport has a capacity for 13 aircraft after the first phase and 19 aircraft after the second phase,” Chansereyvutha said.

The current airport terminal dates back to 2007 when just two million foreign tourists a year visited Cambodia.

Last year, more than 4.4 million international tourists visited the Kingdom by air, with Preah Sihanouk international airport visitors growing by 185 per cent to 666,723 passengers.

Cambodia Airports figures also revealed that there was a combined total of 104,805 aircraft movements – the number of take-offs and landings – across the three airports in 2018. Phnom Penh handled 52,217 of those, Siem Reap 44,314 and Sihanoukville 8,274.