Electricite du Cambodge seeks to boost national electricity production by 1,000MW by the end of next year. Heng Chivoan
Cambodia’s state-run electricity supplier Electricite du Cambodge (EdC) on Tuesday signed an agreement with two Chinese companies to build a $380 million oil and liquefied natural gas power plant in the Kingdom.
A signing ceremony for the 400MW power plant was held by EdC, CGGC-Un Power Co Ltd and China National Heavy Machinery Corporation.
The factory will be built in Koh Reah commune in Kandal province’s Lvea Em district and is set to be completed in 10 months, EdC said.
The agreement under Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) is divided into two parts.
CGGC-Un Power will build the 200MW Finnish Wartsila power plant, with China National Heavy Machinery Corporation installing machinery licensed by Germany’s MAN Energy Solutions, a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG.
The entire project will cost $380 million, with $300 million funded by the government and the rest from EdC.
Some $355 million will be allocated for constructing the plant and $25 million for other infrastructure, EdC said.
The Electricity Authority of Cambodia (EAC) has said Phnom Penh will no longer suffer electricity shortages from next year.
EdC director-general Keo Rattanak, who attended the signing ceremony, said the construction of the power plant came as part of strategies to address energy shortages.
EdC is seeking to boost national electricity production by 1,000MW by the end of next year.
“I believe that the [energy situation] next dry season will be better than in this year’s.
“EdC is currently trying to find electricity in a number of ways, such as using coal-fired power plants and solar energy, and purchasing from low-cost sources [such as Laos] to remedy the situation,” he said.
According to Rattanak, the plant can operate through either heavy fuel oils or liquefied natural gas.
Ministry of Mines and Energy secretary of state Ty Norin said a working group is currently addressing a number of issues at the construction site to pave the way for construction to begin soon.
He said the power plant will ready to go online in March or April next year.
The Kingdom plans to increase electricity supply to 2,870.65MW this year, up from 2,650.26MW last year, according to EAC’s 2018 annual report.
The report shows that despite the planned increase in power supply, the Kingdom is still set to import 442.5MW of energy from neighbouring countries, the same as last year and 2017.
Of this, 277MW will be imported from Vietnam, 135.5MW from Thailand and 30MW from Laos. Through the plan, the government expects electricity consumption in the Kingdom to increase this year to 10,807.71GWh from 9,307.44GWh last year.
EdC also signed an agreement last week with Laos for a 200MW increase in electricity supply starting in 2021.
