The government is forming an interministerial committee to review an application from a Chinese firm to build another hydropower dam in Koh Kong province, according to a spokesman from the Mines and Energy Ministry.

China Huadian Corp, which previously built a 338-megawatt dam on the Russey Chrum River in Koh Kong, has submitted an application to invest in a new dam on the Stueng Veal Thmor Kambot River, according to ministry spokesman Victor Jona.

Jona said the company had submitted a feasibility study and that the proposed capacity would be 100 megawatts.

“We have seen the result from the study and found that the hydropower plant can be developed, because it can offer cheaper [electricity] prices and have little negative impact on the environment,” he said.

Environmental groups had raised issues with the firm’s previous dam, though the government dismissed the concerns.

The negotiation process could take between three and six months, and the company would only make a final decision on the project based on the resulting agreement, according to Jona.

The inter-ministerial committee is to be made up of members from the Ministry of Mines and Energy, Ministry of Economy and Finance, Electricite Du Cambodge, and Electricity Authority of Cambodia, he said.