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Cambodia hopes to establish a national airline in the near future
in a bid to take advantage of rising regional tourism, Prime
Minister Hun Sen said Tuesday.
The country's last national carrier, Royal Air Cambodge, was
shuttered in 2001 after running up losses of 30 million
dollars.
Since then, several other domestic airlines have failed to get
off the ground, allowing at least 10 foreign carriers free reign to
take advantage of lucrative tourist routes both within Cambodia and
abroad.
'I am waiting for more negotiations, but don't let this
carrier end up like Royal Air Cambodge,'
Hun Sen said at a meeting between the private sector and
government officials.
It is unclear when a new airline might be formed, or by whom,
but Hun Sen said talks were
underway between the government and prospective airline
companies.
The premier downplayed the effect losing Cambodia's national
carrier had on tourism, which
remains one of the few sources of revenue in the impoverished
country.
Some 1.7 million visitors came to Cambodia in 2006, and the
country looks set to surpass that total this year, according to
tourism officials.
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