Cambodia’s largest hydropower project officially began producing electricity on Monday, because the country seeks to expand its energy capability to cut back energy imports and help kickstart industrial expansion.
Prime Minister Hun Sen ceremonially opened the 400 MW Lower Sesan II hydroelectric dam within the northeastern province of Stung Treng. According to the Ministry of Mines and Energy, the project, implemented on the premise of the “construct, operate, transfer” principle, will increase electricity production within the country by 20 percent.
It was built over 4 years at a price of just about USD 800 million and is a three way partnership of the Chinese company Hydrolancang International Energy (51% of the shares), the Royal Group from Cambodia (39%) and the Vietnamese company EVN International (10%).
The dam is predicted to generate nearly $30 million in tax revenue annually. Ownership might be transferred to the federal government after 40 years.
Opponents say the dam will destroy the biodiversity of two tributaries of the Mekong River and destroy the livelihoods and houses of hundreds of individuals. As many as 100,000 people could lose their ability to catch fish.
The dam is the seventh commercial-scale hydroelectric dam in Cambodia, increasing hydropower production to 1,328 megawatts.
Hydropower provides 45 percent of Cambodia’s electricity consumption, followed by 35 percent from coal-fired power plants and about 5 percent from oil and alternative energies.
About 15 percent of electricity still needs to be purchased from neighboring countries. High utility prices, attributable to a shortage of local supply, are a serious obstacle to Cambodia attracting foreign investment.
Last 12 months, a government report estimated that Cambodia could generate as much as 10,000 megawatts from hydropower, and extra projects are within the works.
China is Cambodia’s largest investor in the development of dams and other infrastructure projects
source: Related press
