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Cambodia's Biggest Hydropower Dam Now Producing Electricity

Cambodia's Biggest Hydropower Dam Now Producing Electricity
Hydropower © Pixabay.com / soukmano

Cambodia's largest hydropower project officially began producing electricity Monday as the country tries to increase its energy capacity to reduce energy imports and help jump-start industrial expansion.

Prime Minister Hun Sen inaugurated the 400-megawatt Lower Sesan II hydropower dam in the northeastern province of Stung Treng. The project, constructed on a build-operate-transfer basis, will boost the country's production of electricity by 20 percent, according to the Ministry of Mines and Energy.

It was built over four years at a cost of nearly $800 million and is a joint venture of China's Hydrolancang International Energy, which has a 51 percent stake, Cambodia's Royal Group with 39 percent and Vietnam's EVN International with 10 percent.

In this Jan. 10, 2018, file photo, China's Premier Li Keqiang, left, heads to the meeting room with his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen before the opening of the Mekong-Lancang Cooperation forum Leaders Meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Image: AP Photo/Heng Sinith
In this Jan. 10, 2018, file photo, China's Premier Li Keqiang, left, heads to the meeting room with his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen before the opening of the Mekong-Lancang Cooperation forum Leaders Meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Image: AP Photo/Heng Sinith

 

The dam is expected to bring in almost $30 million in tax revenue yearly. Ownership will be handed over to the government after 40 years.

Opponents say the dam will damage the biodiversity of two tributaries of the Mekong River and devastate the livelihoods and homes of thousands of people. As many as 100,000 people could lose the ability to catch fish.

 

The dam is the seventh commercial-scale hydropower dam in Cambodia, bringing hydropower production to 1,328 megawatts.

Forest and villages near the Lower Sesan II Hydropower Dam, July 14, 2017. Image: RFA/Samnang Rann
Forest and villages near the Lower Sesan II Hydropower Dam, July 14, 2017. Image: RFA/Samnang Rann

 

Hydropower supplies 45 percent of Cambodia's electricity consumption, followed by 35 percent from coal-fired power plants and about 5 percent from petroleum and alternative energy.

About 15 percent of electricity must still be purchased from neighboring countries. High utility prices, caused by the shortfall in local supply, are a major obstacle to Cambodia attracting foreign investment.

A government report last year estimated that Cambodia could generate as much as 10,000 megawatts from hydropower, and development of additional projects is underway.

China is Cambodia's largest investor in developing hydroelectric dams and other infrastructure projects

 

 

source: Associated Press

Indah Gilang Pusparani

Indah is a researcher at Badan Perencanaan Pembangunan Penelitian dan Pengembangan Daerah Kota Cirebon (Regional Development Planning and Research Agency of Cirebon Municipality). She covers More international relations, tourism, and startups in Southeast Asia region and beyond. Indah graduated from MSc Development Administration and Planning from University College London, United Kingdom in 2015. She finished bachelor degree from International Relations from University of Indonesia in 2014, with two exchange programs in Political Science at National University of Singapore and New Media in Journalism at Ball State University, USA. She was awarded Diplomacy Award at Harvard World Model United Nations and named as Indonesian Gifted Researcher by Australian National University. She is Researcher at Regional Planning Board in Cirebon, West Java. She previously worked as Editor in Bening Communication, the Commonwealth Parliament Association UK, and diplomacy consulting firm Best Delegate LLC in USA. Less
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