News Extra: 17 October 2023

Here is this week’s subscriber-only news extra for transport and urban development in Southeast Asia.

New Siem Reap Airport

Siem Reap–Angkor International Airport opened on 16 October, replacing the existing Siem Reap International Airport. It was a sensible decision to move the old airport, which was close to Angkor Wat, but the new airport is now over 50 km from the city centre.

Here is the route and approximate travel time as shown on Google Maps.

I will be waiting for guidebook writers and bloggers to report back on how long it actually takes and what the prices are for a bus and taxi.

There is now talk of a light rail connecting the airport to the city centre, which might become more urgent when word gets out what a pain it is to get from the airport.

Flying between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap is currently the quickest way to travel (even though such a short flight route should not exist). This route will be less appealing when the new Phnom Penh airport eventually opens, which might also take an hour to get to. The current road trip takes 5 hr 20 minutes to cover 318.0 km (according to Google).

I've only been to Siem Reap by bus, and I have yet to cover Siem Reap on Future Southeast Asia, so I am overdue for a trip to Siem Reap.

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