Cambodia plans to open nine hydropower dams by 2019

Cambodia plans to open nine hydropower dams by 2019
AFP
May 19, 2008

PHNOM PENH (AFP) -- Cambodia will construct controversial Chinese-funded
dams as part of a plan to feed its electricity-starved economy, according
to government documents obtained Monday by AFP.

The Southeast Asian country will open nine dams of various sizes between
2010 and 2019 to generate 1,942 megawatts of power, according to a
government report to parliament obtained by AFP. At least four of the dams
will be backed by China.

The US-based International Rivers Network last year said that two
Chinese-funded hydroelectric dams already under construction threatened to
flood huge swathes of Cambodia's protected forests.

The group said the Kamchay and Stung Atay dams, unchecked by public
scrutiny, will wreak havoc on local communities and slow development.

The new government report said the Kamchay hydropower plant will open in
2010, while Stung Atay hydroelectric dam will open in 2012.

"By 2020, all villages will have electric power. (And) by 2030, at least
70 percent of the families countrywide will have electricity use," the
report said.

The government also plans to build nine coal-powered plants between 2011
and 2020, the report said.

Only some 20 percent of Cambodian households currently have access to
electricity.

Spiralling utility prices, driven by this lack of supply, are a major
obstacle to attracting foreign investment, and the government has
struggled to find a way to bring down the cost of power.


Energy Tribune
Posted on May. 19, 2008

By Neil Hickey

Cambodia Ramping Up Hydro

Cambodia is speeding ahead with plans to expand its hydropower sector -
spurred on by a voracious demand for electricity, yet seemingly impervious
to environmental and agricultural concerns.

Renewed Chinese investment is bankrolling the plan, which has long been
stalled due to war, political uncertainty, and the Asian economic crisis
more than ten years ago. However, now the time is right, and Cambodia's
Foreign Minister Hor Namhong recently declared that his government plans
to turn the country into the "battery of Southeast Asia" - ambitious words
indeed for a country that struggles to adequately power even itself.

Cambodia Profile - source: EIA, CIA

Cambodia's power consumption is among the lowest anywhere, and its annual
consumption of about 125 million kilowatt-hours is easily the lowest in
Southeast Asia - in fact, less than one-sixth of Fiji's. And that lack of
electricity is reflected in Cambodia's gross domestic product, which ranks
155th in the world, making it one of the world's poorest countries.
However, its economy is picking up and recent growth has been more than 10
percent annually. Now this country - with its rugged beauty and brutal
history, smaller than the state of Oklahoma - desperately needs the energy
sources to power this continued growth.

Cambodia's outdated, predominantly diesel-fueled power plants only meet 75
percent of the country's demand. That has resulted in frequent blackouts,
with power costs more than double those of neighboring Thailand and
Vietnam.

Just 20 percent of Cambodia's 14 million citizens have access to cheap and
reliable electricity, and demand is growing at about 20 percent a year. To
address that demand, the Cambodian government has agreed to construct at
least four Chinese-funded hydropower projects as part of a $3 billion
scheme to boost power output.


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