Logo of Phnom Penh Post newspaper Phnom Penh Post - New $231M Pursat dam built

New $231M Pursat dam built

New $231M Pursat dam built

Groundwork is underway on South Korean-owned SPHP (Cambodia) Co Ltd’s massive $231 million Stung Pursat I hydroelectric dam in Pursat, provincial deputy governor Khoy Rida told The Post on Monday.

Ministry of Mines and Energy senior official Victor Jona said the dam is located in Veal Veng district’s Pramuoy commune and will be able to produce a modest 80MW.

While sustaining minimal impact from the Covid-19 pandemic, the project is still on track to be completed by 2023, Jona said.

SPHP received government approval for the project on May 26.

Rida said SPHP is ramping up construction of a road leading to the site following a field visit last week by its CEO and Keo Rottanak, the director-general of State-run electricity supplier Electricite du Cambodge (EdC), to inspect the dam’s infrastructure.

“The company is currently demining the trail to the hydropower site and paving a road to it, some 20km from the national road.

“We ask the company to speed up construction of the road so that the hydropower project can go ahead as scheduled,” he said.

In addition to the dam, he said the company is also keen on investing in the area as a natural tourism resort at a future date.

“Once the project has come to fruition, the electricity will presumably join the nationwide network and mitigate our reliance on imports.

“The company says it might not invest in just the 80MW electricity project, but also in eco-tourism to draw in more national and international visitors,” Rida said.

Jona, the director-general of the ministry’s General Department of Energy, told The Post that it had issued a licence to SPHP to conduct a feasibility study on the site in 2012.

He said the company has signed an agreement with EdC to sell all the power generated from the dam to the national grid at a cost of $0.07 per kWh.

“This is the second hydroelectric dam project in the province, with the first being the Atai dam which produces 120MW,” Jona said, adding that the province also has two solar projects capable of producing 60MW each, that are being developed by two companies.

EdC’s Rottanak previously said Cambodia is working to generate more than 1,000MW of new energy by the end of this year.

This includes building a coal power plant, utilising solar power, and purchasing low-cost power to better the electricity sector in terms of supply and price.

The Kingdom increased its electricity supply to 2,870.65MW last year, up from 2,650.26MW in 2018, the Electricity Authority of Cambodia (EAC) said in its 2019 annual report.

MOST VIEWED

  • 12th Cambodia int’l film festival to see return of Hollywood star

    Phnom Penh is set to come alive with the magic of cinema as the highly anticipated 12th Cambodia International Film Festival (CIFF) takes centre stage. Boasting an impressive line-up of 188 films from 23 countries, including captivating shorts, feature films, documentaries and animation, the festival promises an

  • Bareknuckle champion wants Kun Khmer fighter

    Dave Leduc, who is the current openweight Lethwei boxing champion in Myanmar, has announced that he will travel to Cambodia this year to challenge SEA Games gold medallist Prum Samnang any time that is convenient, after their planned match later this month in Slovakia was

  • Struggling Battambang artist dreams of staging full-scale gallery exhibition

    Leav Kimchhoth, a 55-year-old artist from Battambang province, is a familiar face to locals and tourists alike on the streets of the riverside in Phnom Penh. The one-armed painter and illustrator often hawks his work near the night market on weekends and public holidays. He

  • Fresh Covid warnings as Thai hospital fills

    A senior health official reminds the public to remain vigilant, as neighbouring countries experience an increase in Covid-19 cases, with the latest surge appearing to be a result of the Omicron XBB.1.5 sub-variant. Or Vandine, secretary of state and spokeswoman for the Ministry of Health,

  • New Law on Taxation comes into effect

    Cambodia has enacted the eagerly-awaited new Law on Taxation, which aims to improve the national tax regime’s compliance with present and future international standards and economic conditions; encourage accountability, effectiveness and transparency in the collection process; and promote investment in the Kingdom. King Norodom

  • PM warns of int’l election interference

    With the national election scheduled to take place in less than two months, Prime Minister Hun Sen has warned foreign nations and their diplomats not to interfere into Cambodia’s domestic affairs. He also hinted that their statements on court verdicts handed down to any