Wednesday, 17 September 2008

Cambodia needs 1.14 bln USD to develop 7 hydropower projects

XINHUA NEWS AGENCY
Source: Comtex Business

PHNOM PENH, Sep 16, 2008 (Xinhua via COMTEX News Network) -- Cambodia needs 1.14 billion U. S. dollars to develop seven priority hydropower projects out of the 29-hydropower-project master plan, according to a report released on Tuesday.

The location of the hydropower sites will be in the northeastern and southwestern of Cambodia, according to the report from a joint study by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Cambodian Ministry of Industry, Mine and Energy (MIME).

"We have to discuss them in details to implement the priority hydropower projects," said Ith Prang, Secretary of State for MIME.

"When we have electricity from hydropower, it will provide electricity supply of cheap price and help reduce poverty in the country," he added.

The report said that Cambodia has two existing hydropower stations, including Kirirom I and O Chum with the capacity of 12 and one megawatts respectively, which are already operated by Electricity Authority of Cambodia.

The hydropower master plan is a part of generation expansion in Cambodia, the report said, adding that the target is 100 percent of village electrification, including battery lighting by 2020 and 70 percent level of household electrification with grid quality by 2030.

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