Cambodia approves power and transmission projects

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Cambodia approves power and transmission projects

The Cabinet of Ministers of Cambodia has given green light to a power and a transmission project which aim to address the increasing demand for electricity in the kingdom.

One of the projects will be a 230-kW transit grid development project from the Ta Tei dam in Koh Kong province. The transmission line in the Koh Kong province project will be 220 kilometers long in order to be able to connect to Phnom Penh and will cost Alex Cooperation, the investment company heading the project, US$136 million.

The second one will be a coal-fired electricity plant in Preah Sihanouk province. The 135 MW plant will be built to replace the Cheay Areng Dam in Koh Kong province which has since shut down. The project will be headed by Malaysian company Cambodia Energy Limited which already has a 50 MW plant in the province. The company is expected to invest US$250 million into the project. Both projects are expected to begin generating electricity by 2019.

Cabinet of Ministers spokesperson Pay Siphan said:

“Prime Minister Hun Sen is hoping to benefit poor people by providing an opportunity for everyone to have access to cheap electricity nationwide.”

Supreme National Economic Council senior advisor Mey Kalyan said that the progress in electricity generation will drive national economic growth by meeting the increasing demand for electricity.

Mr. Kalyan said:

“It will help develop the quality of electricity which will boost the progress of the industrial sector. While we have quantity, we still don’t have quality.”

He also said that the project will reduce the country’s dependency on importing electricity from neighboring countries, adding that producing power domestically will also be more economical.

Electricity prices in Cambodia are among the highest in the region with the most inexpensive option coming from the national grid costing between US$0.11 and US$0.27 per kWh.

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