CSCEC highlights Phnom Penh National Stadium

China State Construction Engineering’s Cambodia unit used a Sept. 2 post on X to spotlight Phnom Penh’s National Stadium, framing the venue as a landmark tied to sports use and city life. The post, which included stadium photos, fits a pattern in which the state-owned Chinese builder has continued to showcase major overseas projects after completion. CSCEC has for years identified the Phnom Penh stadium as one of its flagship works in Cambodia. Public project pages and earlier company releases tie that branding to a much larger story about Chinese-funded sports infrastructure in the Cambodian capital. ### Which stadium is CSCEC talking about in Phnom Penh? CSCEC’s own English-language project material identifies the venue as the Morodok Techo National Stadium in Phnom Penh, not the older National Olympic Stadium in the city center. The company says the project sits within the planned National Sports Complex in the northeast suburb of Phnom Penh and covers about 16.22 hectares. (csci.cscec.com) The Morodok Techo venue is the newer, larger national stadium that Cambodia used as the main stadium for the 2023 Southeast Asian Games. CSCEC said in a May 2023 release that the stadium hosted the Games’ opening ceremony and that more than 10,000 athletes, coaches, referees and officials from 11 countries and regions took part. ### What are the main facts about the project? (csci.cscec.com) CSCEC says the stadium has 55,000 permanent seats and another 5,000 reserved seats, for a 60,000-seat design capacity. The company also says the total floor area is about 82,400 square meters and describes it as the largest and highest-level stadium among China-aided stadiums in foreign countries. A separate CSCEC profile says the stadium meets World Athletics Level 1 certification requirements and can host intercontinental games and large international football matches. (english.cscec.com) Earlier company reporting also described the structure as a sailing-ship-inspired design with two 99-meter-tall prows. ### Why does the “National Stadium” label cause confusion? (csci.cscec.com) Phnom Penh already has an older venue commonly called the National Stadium or National Olympic Stadium. Cambodianess reported in April 2024 that the older Olympic Stadium had received 25,000 new backrest seats funded by the ASEAN Football Federation, bringing its new capacity to 30,000. (english.cscec.com) That older stadium is a different project from the CSCEC-built Morodok Techo National Stadium. The distinction matters because references to “Phnom Penh National Stadium” can point either to the historic Olympic Stadium in the city or to the newer Morodok Techo complex on the capital’s outskirts, depending on who is speaking. ### How has CSCEC described the stadium before this post? (cambodianess.com) December 18, 2021 was the date CSCEC said the Morodok Techo National Stadium was officially launched. The company said Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Chinese Ambassador Wang Wentian attended the inauguration ceremony, with more than 15,000 people present. May 5, 2023 was the date CSCEC said the stadium opened the 32nd Southeast Asian Games, the first time Cambodia had hosted the regional multi-sport event. (cambodianess.com) In that release, CSCEC said the project incorporated Cambodian cultural elements including Bon Om Touk, Angkor Wat, “Namaste,” and the national flower romduol. ### What does this week’s post add? The Sept. 2 X post does not appear to announce a new construction phase, financing package or operating milestone. (en.cscec.com) Instead, it refreshes attention on a completed flagship asset that CSCEC has repeatedly used to represent its Cambodia portfolio. That makes the post more of a corporate showcase than a new project disclosure, based on the company’s earlier public descriptions of the stadium. (english.cscec.com) CSCEC’s official project pages remain the clearest place to track how the company describes the Phnom Penh stadium, while Cambodia’s sports calendar will determine its next major public uses. The venue’s last widely documented milestone in company materials was its role in the 2023 Southeast Asian Games, and the company continues to present it as a signature project in Phnom Penh. (english.cscec.com) (csci.cscec.com)