Siem Reap adds attractions

SIEM REAP  Cambodia’s Deputy Prime Minister, Sok An, says Siem Reap province, home to the famed Angkor temples, is creating more tourism facilities for international visitors.

He was commenting at the official opening of a museum that was funded by an overseas investment.
Agence Kampuchea Presse quoted the deputy PM saying there are already a number of tourism facilities, being constructed to offer travellers a wider choice of attractions when visiting Siem Reap.
Angkor Wat Temple before sunset, Siem Reap, Cambodia.The projects include: Angkor Panorama Museum, Tourist Welcome Centre, Preah Norodom Sihanouk-Angkor Museum, the Southeast Asian Textile Museum, the Angkor Convention and Exhibition Centre, and Sokha Siem Reap Resort.
“We envisaged that Angkor would become one of the most popular tourist destinations and that we would need to dramatically improve infrastructure and facilities to accommodate the increase in visits.”
Angkor Panorama Museum was officially inaugurated, last week, and construction was financed by Mansudae Newtech Corporation of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in cooperation with APSARA Authority at a cost of USD24 million The contract is a typical Build, Operate and Transfer which will ultimately transfer the asset to the government.
The museum, located on a 6,115 square metre plot of land, adopts Khmer architecture style. Construction began in July 2011 and was completed in September 2015.
Last year, Cambodia welcomed 4,502,775 international tourists increasing 7.0% from 4,210,165 visits in 2013, according to Ministry of Tourism data. Of that, 2,350,937 travelled to Siem Reap improving 5.1% from 2,237,286 visits.

sourced:ttrweekly.com