Cambodia succeeded in negotiations to lease a 200MW Turkish power ship to meet electricity demands in Phnom Penh, amid a nearly 400MW electricity shortage nationwide, Prime Minister Hun Sen said on Friday.

Speaking at the 18th Government-Private Sector Forum on Friday at the Peace Palace, the prime minister said the Kingdom reached a deal with Turkey for a three-year supply of electricity.

“Negotiations were successful for the lease of the power ship to supply Phnom Penh’s [electricity] needs. We will use the [power ship] for no less than three years,” he said.

He expressed his thanks to Turkish Ambassador Ayda Unlu for facilitating the deal with Karpowership, the owner and operator of the power ship and subsidiary of Karadeniz Holding.

This agreement comes after Keo Rattanak, the director-general of Electricite Du Cambodge (EDC) under the Electricity Authority of Cambodia (EAC), flew to Turkey for negotiations.

Hun Sen previously said that importing the power ship would not impact the cost of electricity supply.

Despite the Turkish power ship’s electricity being more expensive – at $0.14 per kWh, a $0.03 mark-up from local hydropower plants – the state has said that it will subsidise the extra cost, he said.

Early this month, the prime minister called on business owners and the public to temporarily use their own electric generators as EAC cannot generate enough electricity to meet demands due to low water levels in hydropower station reservoirs.

He said demand has been increasing due to a boom in the construction sector.

The Kingdom plans to increase electric power supply to 2,870.65MW next year – up from 2,650.26MW this year, according to EAC’s 2018 annual report.

Keo Rattanak told Fresh News on Sunday that the EDC has deployed solar-powered electricity to more than 106,640 rural houses with more than $27 million of its funds.