In December the firm behind plans for a new US$1bn international airport in Siem Reap, NSRIA, released a statement providing further details of the venture. According to the company (a Cambodian joint venture whose main investors are two South Korean companies, Lees A&A and Camko Airport), the airport is set to become the biggest such facility in Cambodia if completed as planned. The new airport for the northern tourist hub, home to the famed temples of Angkor, will be around 40 km east of Angkor and will be big enough to accommodate large aircraft, such as Boeing 747s, thus allowing direct flights to arrive from Europe and North America. The development will include an adjacent special economic zone, a dry port and a 40-sq-km city. NSRIA has stated that construction should begin this year and should be completed in five and a half years.

The project's investors are hoping to capitalise on increasing tourist numbers and foreign investment. But there are doubts over whether the development is too large: the airport will have a capacity of 15m passengers annually, but the Ministry of Tourism forecasts that there will be just 2.7m visitors in 2011, many of whom will arrive by land. These fears may be heightened by the fact that high-profile South Korean-backed real estate projects in Phnom Penh have stalled recently in the wake of falling property prices, a shortage of credit and little interest from buyers, leaving questions over the quality of planning and market research undertaken by NSRIA.