Ground has been broken on a new water treatment plant in Battambang province which will serve the provincial capital.
The plant, in Kampong Wat Kor commune’s Seima village of the town, is co-financed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Agence Francaise de Developpement- AFD (French Development Agency), with contributions from the government.
Cham Prasidh, Senior Minister and Minister of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation, announced at the groundbreaking ceremony that the new plant will be able to supply 100 per cent of the town in 2025.
He said the Battambang Water Supply Authority currently has the capacity to produce slightly more than 30,000 cubic metres of clean water a day to the 250,000 people in its service area, meaning its meets just 68.75 per cent of demand.
“In line with the fourth phase of the government’s Rectangular Strategy: People, Water, Electricity, and Road, the provincial administration has started the construction of a clean water plant with a capacity of 50,000 cubic metres per day, the largest scale clean water plant in the province,” he added.
“Where there is clean water, there is development. An adequate clean water will improve the living standards of the people. In this way, we are able to gradually develop every commune, town and district in the Kingdom,” he said.
Khon Narith, an official of the provincial Department of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation’s water supply authority, explained that the project was the result of a concessional loan agreement between the Cambodian government and the ADB and the AFD. The budget for the plant is approximately $33.6 million.
He said the water pumping station and a 93km pipeline extension would be built by the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, with technical oversight by PIAC.
“This project aims to meet the clean water supply demands of the whole of Battambang town and the communes of two districts that border the town, Thma Koul and Sangke.
‘Clean Water for all’ is part of the administration’s 2025 development plans,” he added.
