Vietnam, Cambodia upgrade two border gates

Two border gates in the southern Vietnamese province of Kien Giang and the Cambodian province of Kampot will be upgraded to become national border gates.

The People’s Committee of Kien Giang province and the Administrative Committee of Kampot province held a ceremony on May 29 to launch the work for Giang Thanh border gate of Kien Giang and Ton Hon border gate of Kampot. They also inaugurated border landmark No 302.

These efforts aim to satisfy the daily needs of people from both countries and give a new impetus to bilateral trade and import-export activities.

Apart from the Giang Thanh border gate, Kien Giang province also has another border gate at Ha Tien, which has become one of the busiest international border gates in the Mekong Delta region over the past three years. Exports through this border gate reached nearly US$30 million in the first five months of this year, an annual rise of 30 percent. Read more!

Cambodia to have first airplane taxiway next month

PHNOM PENH -- Cambodia will have its first taxiway next month in Phnom Penh International Airport, a path that connects the runway to where airplanes park to increase the flight capacity of the airport, local media reported on Friday.

The US$9 million taxiway, which is 1,250 meters long by 44 meters wide, roughly the same size as the existing runway, will allow for more takeoffs and landings each day, Khek Norinda, communications and marketing manager for Societe Concessionaire des Aeroports (SCA), was quoted by English newspaper the Cambodia Daily as saying.

SCA, which is financing construction, is a French-owned company and manages Phnon Penh International Airport, as well as the airport in Siem Reap and Sihanoukville, under a contract with the government that runs until 2040.

The construction began in May of last year and will be finished in June of this year.

Currently, only 10 passenger planes can land or take off in an hour from the airfield at Phnom Penh's airport, said Sok Puth Thoeun, director of the airport's engineering department. That will jump to at least 16 planes with the planned taxiway.

"It is the first parallel taxiway for Phnom Penh International Airport," he added. The State Secretariat of Civil Aviation also has a master plan to build a parallel taxiway at Siem Reap International Airport, said Sok Puth Thoeun.
Read more!