Government Happy For Chinese Dominance of Cambodia Energy Sector to Continue

Government Happy For Chinese Dominance of Cambodia Energy Sector to Continue

When Vietnamese forces liberated Cambodia from the genocidal reign of Pol
Pot in 1979 they found the country devoid of necessary infrastructure.
Roads, bridges, water and sanitation services, and power generation and
distribution networks had all but been totally destroyed. While some
progress was made on restoring these services in the wake of the Khmer
Rouge, it wasn't until 1999 that real progress began, at least according to
Cambodia Minister of Mines and Energy, Suy Sem.

In an interview with Xinhuanet, Mr Suy said 1999 and the declaration of the
'win-win strategy' by Prime Minister Hun Sen and the end to internal
conflict marked a new era in the Cambodia energy sector. "Chinese investment
in developing the sources of electrical energy is like the building of a new
history for Cambodia", Mr Suy said.

China is the largest investor in the Cambodia energy sector, 'assisting'
Cambodia in the construction of six hydro-power dams since 2000 at a cost of
some US$2.4 billion. It is also the dominant partner in the 70 per cent
complete 400 megawatt (MW) Lower Sesan 2 hydro-power plant being constructed
at a cost of $816 million due to come online in 2019.

Noting that over the past 14 years China's contribution the Cambodia energy
sector has increased 11 times - from 180 gigawatts (GW) in 2002 to 1,986GW
in 2015 - Mr Suy said this has enabled electrification to 72 per cent of the
kingdom's villages. By 2020, he said, it is planned that every Cambodia
village will have access to electricity.

Clearly appreciative of Chinese investment in the Cambodia energy sector, Mr
Suy said that Chinese hydro-power dams have significantly reduced Cambodia's
reliance on oil-fueled power plants and electricity imported from
neighboring Vietnam and Thailand, helping build independence in the Cambodia
energy sector.

Coal Edges Out Hydro Dominance of Cambodia Energy Sector

However, while hydro-power dams produced almost 2,000 gigawatt hours (GWh)
of electricity in 2015, a slight increase on the 1,851GWh produced in 2014,
it amounted to just 47 per cent of the Kingdom's electricity needs.

Cheap, easy to build, and with the ability to operate at full capacity
during the dry season, coal-fired power generation became the dominant
source of electricity in Cambodia for the first time in 2015.

According to government figures Cambodia's two coal-fired power plants in
Preah Sihanouk province, the 270MW CIIDG Erdos Hongjun Electric Power
facility co-owned by Cambodian People's Party Senator (CPP), Lao Meng Khin,
and a neighbouring 100MW plant owned by Malaysia's Leader Universal Holdings
produced a combined 2,376GWh in 2015, an increase of more than 175 per cent
on the 863GWh produced in 2014.

Despite this dramatic improvement Cambodia was forced to purchase 1,541GWh
from neighbouring Vietnam and Thailand. To help address the shortfall a
third 135Mw coal-powered turbine will come online this month at the CIIDG
plant, while Cambodia's Royal Group is hoping to get the go-ahead for
400-500Mw coal-fired plant, also in Preah Sihanouk province.

To address the ongoing shortages brought about by the country's steady 7 per
cent annual GDP growth, Mr Suy told Xinhuanet that Cambodia needed to seek
other energy options. Solar power and even a nuclear power plant are options
the government is currently considering.

More Chinese Investment in Cambodia Energy Sector Welcome

Despite decrying the cost of solar energy, Mr Suy said Singapore's Sunseap
Asset (Cambodia) was recently approved to build Cambodia's first large-scale
solar power plant in Bavet City, Svay Rieng province. Expected to cost $12.5
million the solar farm will feed 10MW into the national grid when
construction is completed during the first half of this year.

Following the signing of Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) in May 2016
between Cambodia and Russia at the Russian-Asean summit, Mr Suy said that
the peaceful use of nuclear energy to help meet the ever increasing demand
of the Cambodia energy sector was also an option, noting that a nuclear
power plant could generate ten times the amount of electricity produced by a
hydro-power plant.

With demand for electricity increasing at about 20 per cent per year and
clearly comfortable with China's efforts to date, Mr Suy called on Chinese
investors to help build more hydro-power dams, coal-fired power plants, and
power transmission lines in Cambodia.

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Link to Original Article:
https://aecnewstoday.com/2017/government-happy-for-chinese-dominance-of-camb
odia-energy-sector-to-continue/

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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com