A direct flight that would link the Chinese city of Wuxi in Jiangsu province with Preah Sihanouk province is under consideration as Chinese authorities push for better access to Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone (SSEZ), state-owned news agency AKP reported yesterday.

Wang Jinjian, deputy mayor of Wuxi, was quoted as saying that the talks have been under discussion for almost a year, but he was optimistic that a direct flight to Jiangsu province would be approved soon.

He added that the flight would increase investment into SSEZ. The 11-square-kilometre industrial park has 100 operational factories with 88 of them owned by Chinese investors.