China's 'airport construction leader' creates new gateway for Cambodia

The passenger terminal consists of a four-story main building and one-story basement, with a construction area of 160,000 square meters, while the viaduct in front of the station is 580 meters long. The north pier is a three-story ground structure equipped with 20 boarding bridges, with a construction area of 50,000 square meters, while the energy center is a two-story ground structure, with a construction area of 7,000 square meters.

Yao Deshun, CCTEB's project manager for Techo, said that the airport was the largest project in Cambodia to date to for steel structures in terms of volume and area, with superb construction technology employed.

According to Yao, the project also entailed the building of Cambodia's largest energy center, equipped with the largest local chilling unit with a cooling capacity of 7,800 kilowatt-hours, and more than 1,000 photovoltaic panels.

The center can generate up to 120 million kWh annually, which can help reduce carbon emissions by about 100,000 metric tons, making it one of the most environmentally friendly airports in the world, he said.

Techo, which is the world's highest 4F airport, was developed in three phases, with a design capacity of 50 million passenger trips.

Former Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen visited the project twice during construction, while the current Prime Minister Hun Manet visited the airport site in 2024. During his visit, Manet praised project management and all workers for overcoming various difficulties to ensure completion of the airport.

In October 2024, Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wenbin visited the site and expressed his appreciation for the progress made. On opening day, the director of the Cambodian Civil Aviation Authority, spoke highly of the scientific rigor with which the project was progressed and of the professional handling of the COVID-19 pandemic during construction.

To mark the opening, Yao Deshun took the first flight from Guangdong to Phnom Penh to witness the historic moment.

According to project management, the opening of Techo International Airport was not only a significant moment for Cambodia, but also serves as a model of international cooperation, bringing new opportunities for the development of Cambodia and the entire Southeast Asia region.