SIEM REAP: Prime Minister Hun Manet pledged his support and encouragement of the Chinese construction company that built the new Siem Reap-Angkor International airport to expand its investment in Siem Reap so that the province can become a multi-purpose development pole for Cambodia.

On November 16, the PM met with China’s Yunnan Province Governor Wang Yubo in celebration of the official inauguration of the new Siem Reap airport. Yunnan is home to the three state-owned companies who have invested in Cambodia and made the airport a reality.

The PM said it was a historic day for Siem Reap and Cambodia, with another new achievement emerging as a symbol of modern development and cultural preservation. He noted the new airport as the fruit of good cooperation between Cambodia and China.

He thanked Yunnan Province for its trust in Cambodian investment, especially in the construction of the international airport, which the companies will own and operate for 55 years before it belongs to Cambodia under the signed BOT (Buy-Operate-Trade) agreement.

PM Hun Manet went on to praise the achievements of China’s Belt and Road Initiative within Cambodia, which saw loans develop the Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway, the Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone, the Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport and the Phnom Penh-Bavet Expressway, which is currently under construction.

Governor Wang Yubo expressed his belief that under the leadership of Prime Minister Hun Manet, Cambodia will be more prosperous and Cambodian-Chinese cooperation will be closer, stronger and long lasting.