Sihanoukville
Sihanoukville
(sē`əno͝ok'vĭl') orKompong Som
(käm`pông` sôm), city and seaport (1994 est. pop. 75,000), Sihanoukville prov., S Cambodia, on the Gulf of Thailand. Although a new city (completed 1960 and named in honor of Norodom SihanoukSihanouk, Norodom, 1922–2012, king of Cambodia (1941–55, 1993–2004), b. Phnom Penh. Sihanouk was educated in Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) and Paris and was elected king by a royal council in 1941.
..... Click the link for more information. ), it is the principal deepwater port and commercial outlet of Cambodia. Constructed to compensate for the loss of sea access via the Mekong River upon Cambodian independence, the city and port were built on mud flats, with French aid, and grew with the construction of a highway and railroad to Phnom Penh. In the 21st cent. a Chinese-operated special economic zone has been developed. The city has an international airport, and the area's fine beaches have contributed to Sihanoukville's development as a tourist center, with casinos catering to Chinese visitors.