PHNOM PENH: Samdech Moha Borvor Thipadei Hun Manet, Prime Minister of Cambodia, said that the newly-commenced Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport (SAI) will contribute to tourism and socio-economic development in Cambodia.

The airport started its commercial operation on Oct. 16 with daily 34 flight movements, according to the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation.

“This new opportunity will become a strong and important potential for tourism in Siem Reap province as well as in the country as a whole. This will attract investors as well as provide local economic benefits for the people,” Samdech Thipadei Hun Manet said on Oct. 31 on his Telegram channel.

Covering an area of 700 hectares in Tayek commune of Sotr Nikum district, about 50 kilometers from Siem Reap provincial city, the SAI has been invested by the Angkor International Airport Investment (Cambodia) Co., Ltd., an affiliate of China's Yunnan Investment Holdings Ltd. with a total investment of US$1.1 billion.

As a 4E-level international airport that can accommodate long-distance flights from across the globe with a 3,600-meter runway and 38 berths, SAI is able to manage seven million passengers annually and is expected to increase its capacity to a staggering 12 million passengers a year from 2040.

Cambodia's famed Angkor Archaeological Park sold entrance passes to 539,561 foreign tourists in the first nine months of this year, earning US$24.95 million, an increase of 365 percent compared to the same period last year.