A major new airport to serve Cambodia's capital and boost tourism is due to open in July

KANDAL, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia expects that its new airport serving the capital will open in July, a project official said Friday, in a major step forward in boosting the country's lucrative tourism sector, whose growth was interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Work on Phnom Penh’s new airport, officially known as the Techo International Airport, began in 2019, covering an area of 2,600 hectares (6,425 acres) located at the border of Kandal and Takeo provinces, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of the capital.

“I think the TIA airport here is going to be launched in the soft opening in July 2025, and we believe that so many passengers are waiting and they really want to come in to see this new airport,” said Charles Vann, director of the airport’s project steering committee, during a media tour.

The new airport is a $1.5 billion joint venture between the Cambodian government and the Overseas Cambodian Investment Corp. It's being built by the China Construction Third Engineering Bureau Group Co., Ltd.

The architects for the airport are the British firm Foster + Partners, whose website says its “design embodies a strong sense of place" and is "responsive to the tropical climate.” The terminal building sits under what is described as a single overarching roof canopy that is a lightweight steel grid shell, “with an innovative screen that filters daylight and illuminates the vast terminal space.”

Construction is being undertaken in three phases. Initially, the airport is expected to be capable of handling up to 13 million passengers a year, with capacity increased up to 30 million passengers after 2030, and then up to 50 million passengers in 2050.

It will be the second major airport in Cambodia to open in the space of two years. In 2023, the Chinese-financed Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport began operations in the northwestern province of Siem Reap, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) east of the centuries-old Angkor Wat temple complex, the country’s major tourist attraction.

Tourism is one of the main pillars supporting Cambodia’s economy. According to the Ministry of Tourism, Cambodia received around 6.7 million international tourists in 2024, a 23% increase over 2023.

A Cambodian symbolizing of millionaire house places in front of an under a construction of a new airport of Techo International Airport at the outskirts of Phnom Penh Cambodia, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Cambodian workers work inside under a construction of a new airport of Techo International Airport at the outskirts of Phnom Penh Cambodia, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Cambodian workers work inside an under construction of a new airport of Techo International Airport at the outskirts of Phnom Penh Cambodia, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

An overview in front an under construction of a new airport of Techo International Airport at the outskirts of Phnom Penh Cambodia, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

An overview from beside of parking airplane of an under construction of a new airport of Techo International Airport at the outskirts of Phnom Penh Cambodia, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Cambodian workers work inside under a construction of a new airport of Techo International Airport at the outskirts of Phnom Penh Cambodia, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

A worker paint a sign inside an under construction of a new airport of Techo International Airport at the outskirts of Phnom Penh Cambodia, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

An overview from beside of parking in front an under construction of a new airport of Techo International Airport at the outskirts of Phnom Penh Cambodia, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

An overview from beside of an under construction of a new airport of Techo International Airport at the outskirts of Phnom Penh Cambodia, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Airport staff members test the luggage machine inside an under construction of a new airport of Techo International Airport at the outskirts of Phnom Penh Cambodia, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Airport staff members test the luggage machine inside an under construction of a new airport of Techo International Airport at the outskirts of Phnom Penh Cambodia, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Cambodian journalists visit inside an under construction of a new airport of Techo International Airport at the outskirts of Phnom Penh Cambodia, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

A view inside an under construction of a new airport of Techo International Airport at the outskirts of Phnom Penh Cambodia, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Cambodian visit an under construction of a new airport of Techo International Airport at the outskirts of Phnom Penh Cambodia, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Cambodian workers work inside an under construction of a new airport of Techo International Airport at the outskirts of Phnom Penh Cambodia, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza (AP) — Israel struck a hospital in northern Gaza early Sunday, forcing patients to evacuate as attacks intensified.

The pre-dawn strike hit Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, after Israel issued an evacuation warning, according to Gaza's ministry of health. One patient died during the evacuation because medical staff were unable to provide urgent care, it said.

The hospital, run by the Diocese of Jerusalem, was attacked on Palm Sunday, which commemorates Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem.

Hours later, a separate strike on a car in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, killed at least seven people — six brothers and their friend — according to staff at the morgue of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, which received the bodies.

Israel said it struck a command and control center used by Hamas at the hospital to plan and execute attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers, without providing evidence. It said prior to the strike, steps were taken to mitigate harm, including issuing warnings, and using precise munitions and aerial surveillance.

The strikes came hours after Israel's defense minister said that military activity would rapidly expand across Gaza and that people would have to evacuate from “fighting zones.” Israel also announced Saturday the completion of the Morag corridor, cutting off the southern city of Rafah from the rest of Gaza, with the military saying it would soon expand “vigorously” in most of the small coastal territory.

Israeli authorities have vowed to pressure Hamas to release the remaining 59 hostages, 24 believed to be alive, and accept proposed new ceasefire terms.

The director of Al-Ahli Hospital, Dr. Fadel Naim, said they were warned of the attack before it was struck. In a post on X, he wrote that the emergency room, pharmacy and surrounding buildings were severely damaged, impacting more than 100 patients and dozens of medical staff.

The health ministry said the strike destroyed the ward for outpatients and laboratories and damaged the emergency ward.

Medical facilities often come under fire in wars, but combatants usually depict such incidents as accidental or exceptional, since hospitals enjoy special protection under international law. In its 18-month campaign in Gaza, Israel has stood out by carrying out an open campaign on hospitals, besieging and raiding them, some several times, as well as hitting multiple others in strikes while accusing Hamas of using them as cover for its fighters.

Last month Israel struck Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis city, the largest in southern Gaza, killing two people and wounding others and causing a large fire, the territory’s health ministry said. The facility was overwhelmed with dead and wounded when Israel ended the ceasefire with a surprise wave of airstrikes.

The war started after Hamas killed 1,200 people during its Oct. 7, 2023, attack, mostly civilians, and took 250 people captive, many of whom were eventually freed in ceasefire deals.

More than 50,000 Palestinians in Gaza have so far been killed in Israel's retaliatory offensive, according to the health ministry there, which does not differentiate between combatants and civilians in its count but says more than half of the dead are women and children.

Magdy reported from Cairo.

Khalid Ahmad holds a poster of his 17-year-old son, Waleed, who died in an Israeli prison, that reads in Arabic, "The hero prisoner Martyr, mercy and eternity for our righteous Martyrs," in the West Bank town of Silwad, northeast of Ramallah Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

A woman holds a sign as people take part in a protest demanding the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, April 5,2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Palestinians wait for donated food at a distribution center in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinian children receive donated food at a distribution center in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Displaced Palestinians flee from east to west of Gaza City after the Israeli military issued evacuation orders in the area, Friday April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Displaced Palestinians flee from east to west of Gaza City after the Israeli military issued evacuation orders in the area, Friday April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Two boys sit on a mattress as they ride on their family car while s fleeing from east to west of Gaza City after the Israeli military issued evacuation orders in the area, Friday April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)