Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered the postponement of a contract signing ceremony scheduled for today that would have solidified Thai investment in Cambodia’s Stung Nam hydropower project, amid mounting criticism at home over the high cost of electricity in the proposed contract, according to Thai media.

The contract between Thailand and Cambodia’s state electricity providers would have given the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand a 50 percent stake in the project, and included a purchase agreement for the hydrodam’s water and electricity to supply Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor project.

Thai authorities argued, however, that the contract price on electricity – 10.75 baht compared to the Thai standard price of 4 baht per unit – was too high, while the water was unnecessary as Thai dams had sufficient capacity.