Cambodia received 2,881,862 tourists last year and
expects this to increase by 20 percent a year. South Korean tourism is ranked
second, after Vietnam, and China is third.
Dr. Sok An told Dr. Shin Eui-cheol, the Korea
International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) representative in Cambodia, on Monday
that the Royal Government is ready to facilitate the Korean survey team to
ensure the project succeeds.
Dr. Shin Eui-cheol said in the meeting that the team
plans to conduct a feasibility study, after which an MOU would be signed later
this year. Construction of the centre is expected next year.
The Cambodian side will help the team by collecting
data, which Dr. Sok An called “using local content”. Other stakeholders,
including Societe Concessionaire de l’Aeroport and Cambodia Air Traffic
Services, will also be consulted concerning the project.
The government of the Republic of Korea will equip the
centre, where South Korean experts will train Cambodian experts who work in
Cambodia’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) how to improve their performance.
Dr. Sok An said that Cambodia is pleased with this
support for the CAA, because South Korea is rated by the International Civil
Aviation Organisation (ICAO) among the top ten in the world. “CAA has to
improve so that we will get a good rating in the future”, he said.
Dr. Shin Eui-cheol agreed, “I hope that this project
will succeed and hope that CAA will achieve a top ten rating”.
The two agreed that South Korean experts should
continue to assist Cambodian experts until Cambodians are able to handle such
operations. Both were pleased with the bilateral cooperation and relations
since KOICA opened an office in Phnom Penh in 1992.
