China bags Cambodian airport contract in blow to French operator

State-owned MCC lands $400m construction deal for new gateway in Phnom Penh

20201117 PP new airport

An illustration of Phnom Penh's planned international airport is displayed at the construction site outside the capital. (Nikkei photo)

KENJI KAWASE, Nikkei Asia chief business news correspondent, and SHAUN TURTON, Contributing writer

HONG KONG/PHNOM PENH -- A major portion of Cambodia's new international airport in Phnom Penh will be built by a Chinese state-owned company, leaving the French operator of the capital's current gateway facing an increasingly uncertain future.

Metallurgical Corporation of China won the 2.67 billion yuan ($405 million) contract to design and construct the airfield for the new airport, whose overall $1.5 billion price tag is being bankrolled almost entirely by Beijing.

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