In Hong Kong:
Desmond Dodd
Tel: +852 2509 8183
Email: ddodd@ifc.org

In Phnom Penh:
Adam Sack
Email: asack@ifc.org


Phnom Penh, Cambodia, January 17, 2004—The International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, has agreed to provide $10 million in financing to Société Concessionnaire de l’Aéroport, which holds a 25-year concession from the Cambodian government to build and operate the Phnom Penh International Airport and the Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport. The expansion of the two airports in the next five years is critical to the country’s development of industry and trade, especially tourism, helping create jobs and earn foreign exchange.

The Phnom Penh International Airport is located 10 kilometers west of the capital and serves as Cambodia’s main gateway. The Siem Reap Airport is located 8 kilometers northwest of that city and is the hub for most tourist traffic visiting the temples in the nearby Angkor Archeological Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site. In 2002, the Phnom Penh airport handled about 965,000 passengers, and the Siem Reap airport handled about 573,000.

IFC will provide SCA with a $10 million loan. Société de Promotion et de Participation pour la Coopération Economique, the French development financing institution, will provide a parallel loan of $10 million.  

"The two airports are an essential component of the infrastructure required to support international tourism in Cambodia. IFC's financing for SCA will expand the only two international airports in the country and help Cambodia develop the value of its unique cultural assets in the Angkor Temple complex," said Francisco Tourreilles, director of IFC's Infrastructure Department. "The financing to SCA allows IFC to help facilitate the expansion of the tourism sector in Cambodia," noted Javed Hamid, IFC's director for East Asia and the Pacific.

SCA is 70 percent controlled by the Vinci Group of France, one the largest companies in the world providing concession management, construction, and related services.  The remaining 30 percent of SCA is held by Muhibbah Masteron (Cambodia) Company Limited, a local holding company that is owned by Muhibbah Engineering Berhad from Malaysýa and two Cambodian businessmen, Mr. Okhna Kong Triv and Mr. Okhna Hann Khieng.
 
The mission of IFC (www.ifc.org) is to promote sustainable private sector investment in developing countries, helping to reduce poverty and improve people's lives. IFC finances private sector investments in the developing world, mobilizes capital in the international financial markets, helps clients improve social and environmental sustainability, and provides technical assistance and advice to governments and businesses. From its founding in 1956 through FY03, IFC has committed more than $37 billion of its own funds and arranged $22 billion in syndications for 2,990 companies in 140 developing countries. IFC's worldwide committed portfolio as of FY03 was $16.8 billion for its own account and $6.6 billion held for participants in loan syndications.