Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen this morning reaffirmed that Cambodia needs to expand energy sources to respond to its fast growth. Speaking at a get-together with over 300 families affected by the Stung Pursat 1 hydropower project in Pramoy commune, Veal Veng district, Pursat province, Samdech Techo Hun Sen said in the 1990s, the electricity consumption, especially in Phnom Penh, was only around 30 megawatts, but now the figure rose to 1,000 megawatts, and for the whole nation, the energy need jumped to more than 2,200 megawatts per year. ‘Electricity is an indispensable need and Cambodia will continue to expand more [energy sources]. It is no more an era of hand fan, but at least of fan and even air conditioner,’ he underlined. The Premier continued that Cambodia now can generate up to 62 percent of renewable energies and most of which are from hydropower dams, and the rest from solar power and coal-fired power plants. The Stung Pursat 1 hydropower project, which kicked off in late 2022, is invested by SPHP (Cambodia) Co., Ltd., a joint venture between China and Korea, with a total investment capital of US$231 million. The 80-megawatt power plant, built under a BOT scheme for a 39-year period, is expected to launch the operation in 2026. Stung Pursat 1 is the second hydropower project in Pursat province after the first one, Stung Atai of 120 megawatts located in Chhay Louk village, O’ Som commune, Veal Veng district, which was officially put into use in 2015. Currently, about 99 percent of the total villages and 90 percent of the total households across the country have access to electricity.

Source: Agence Kampuchea Presse