T HE Ministry of Public Works has struck a $120 million deal with a joint

Cambodian-Malaysian-French consortium to upgrade Pochentong international

airport to boost the Kingdom's air service.

A Sept 5 agreement allows the

French GTM Entrepose and Dumez-GTM, Malaysian Muhibbah Engineering Berhad and

Muhibbah Masteron Sdn Bhd, and Cambodia's United Company Ltd. to operate the new

airport on the build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis. The concession will end in 20

years after which the new airport would be turned over to the Cambodian

government.

The consortium has appointed Malaysia Airports Berhad and

Aeroport de Paris to form an operation company to manage the airport under the

name of Cambodia Airport Management Services.

The three-year project

will include a 3,600-meter runway parallel with the existing one, a lighting and

navigational system and connecting ramps to fit Boeing 747-400 aircraft. Air

service will be operated in a two-floor terminal which will have the capacity to

handle 600 passengers per hour.

"This is the first ever multilateral

contract because it involves many partners. This contract is very important in

both amount and quality," Premier Prince Norodom Ranariddh said after the

signing ceremony.