Pochentong Airport: 85 Years of History, Economy and National Memory

Standing between the old and the modern, between the village and the world, a stretch of land on the outskirts of Phnom Penh has carried a whole share of Cambodian identity for nearly a century. Pochentong Airport was never a mere transit point: from its very conception, it was a political and symbolic project, driven by King Father Norodom Sihanouk's vision of an independent, modern Cambodia open to the world.

Pochentong's terminal shortly after its inauguration, with a propeller airliner parked on the apron (archival photograph, colourised).

Closed to commercial traffic in September 2025 in favour of the new Techo International Airport, Pochentong now begins a new existence — as a site of national memory.

A dream of sovereignty carried by the King Father

For Norodom Sihanouk, architect of Cambodian independence in 1953, civil aviation was never simply a matter of infrastructure: it embodied the young kingdom's ability to assert itself on the world stage. As part of the Sangkum Reastr Niyum, the political and social movement he led to transform the country, the King Father saw the airport as both a tool of modernisation and a national symbol. His ambition went well beyond air transport: he dreamed of a peaceful, prosperous Cambodia serving as a hub for trade, culture and learning in Southeast Asia — a dream that war, instability and genocide nearly destroyed, but which still inspires Cambodian youth today.

It was in this spirit that Sihanouk personally involved himself in the design of the new airport, insisting that its architecture also reflect this ambition of Khmer modernity.

From a modest airfield to a national airport

The site's first aviation facilities date back to 1924, under French colonial administration, before being taken over and expanded by Japanese forces during the Second World War occupation, when numerous airfields were built across the country. It was only after independence, however, that the site truly changed in scale: construction of the real international airport began in December 1956, jointly financed by the French and Cambodian governments, at a cost of 134.4 million riels.

The airport was officially inaugurated on 19 January 1959 under the name Pochentong International Airport. Design of its terminal building, including the VIP hall, was entrusted to Vann Molyvann, a young Paris-trained architect who would soon become the leading figure of the 'New Khmer Architecture' movement, blending international modernist lines with traditional Khmer forms and motifs. The choice of architect was no accident: the King Father wanted the country's finest talent to give Cambodia a gateway worthy of its ambitions — a gesture whose legacy is preserved today notably through the work of the Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam) and the Queen Mother's Library, which safeguard this architectural and historical heritage.

The trial of war

The 1970s radically transformed the airport's role. As the country descended into civil war, Pochentong became a vital strategic lifeline for the besieged capital. Between October and December 1973, American cargo planes airlifted close to 3,000 tons of rice to feed Phnom Penh. When the Khmer Rouge cut the last remaining land and river routes in April 1975, the airport became the city's only supply line. The last scheduled flight took off on 10 April 1975, seven days before the capital fell.

Under the Pol Pot regime, the airport came to a near-total standstill, with only occasional flights arriving from Beijing or Pyongyang — an aerial silence mirroring the silence imposed on the entire country.

Rebirth: from the United Nations to an international concession

The turn of the 1990s marked Pochentong's return to the international stage. Between October 1991 and March 1992, the airport hosted the deployment of the United Nations Advance Mission in Cambodia, the prelude to the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC). It became the critical entry point for one of the largest peacekeeping operations in UN history, backed by a $1.6 billion budget aimed at repatriating refugees, disarming rival factions and organising free elections — laying the groundwork for Cambodia's 'second kingdom.'

This political rebirth was accompanied by economic modernisation. On 6 July 1995, the Royal Government signed a twenty-year concession agreement with the Société Concessionnaire d'Aéroport (SCA), a French-Malaysian joint venture 70% owned by Groupe GTM and 30% by Malaysia's Muhibbah Masterron. SCA committed to a $110 million improvement programme covering a new runway, new passenger and cargo terminals, hangars, and a Category III instrument landing system. The Berger Group was appointed by the Cambodian government to provide independent technical oversight of the entire project.

Pochentong then became the kingdom's main air gateway, carried by the growth of Cambodian tourism and foreign trade. In 2003, it was officially renamed Phnom Penh International Airport, although Cambodians, out of attachment, continued to call it Pochentong.

The end of an era and the handover to Techo

At midnight on 8 September 2025, the last commercial flights left Pochentong, closing nearly seven decades of uninterrupted service. The very next day, the new Techo International Airport — a massive project estimated, depending on the source, at between $1.5 and $2.3 billion — was inaugurated with great fanfare, opening a new chapter in Cambodian aviation history.

A national heritage to reinvent

Far from being abandoned, the 386-hectare site is now the focus of considerable attention from the authorities. In May 2025, Prime Minister Hun Manet publicly stated that neither he nor former Prime Minister Hun Sen had ever intended to sell the land to private interests: Pochentong will remain state property, dedicated to public use, in tribute to its founder, King Father Norodom Sihanouk. An inter-ministerial task force, led by Secretary of State Chheang Vannarith, has been set up to study its long-term management and redevelopment.

The site's annual upkeep cost is currently estimated at around $3 million, which authorities hope to partly offset through activities compatible with its public purpose: green spaces, cultural facilities, and limited commercial zones. The Architects Association of Cambodia has proposed redeveloping the site into a 'Sponge City' — a vast urban park inspired by models such as Central Park in New York or Hyde Park in London — a way for the capital to give its residents a shared space worthy of the ambition that marked the airport's birth.

A living memory

Now nicknamed 'the old airport,' Pochentong is far from a mere relic. It remains the meeting point between Cambodia's past and future, between the memory of its builder king and the aspirations of a generation looking ahead. Through preservation work led notably by the Documentation Center of Cambodia and the Queen Mother's Library, as well as through the architectural projects currently under study, Pochentong is poised to become far more than a place of remembrance: a space where Cambodian identity itself is reimagined for generations to come.