Energy minister Suy Sem (front) holds a copy of the MoU on energy cooperation with Singapore, signed on October 25. MME
Cambodia and Singapore are slated to set up a joint technical working group “soon” to look into the work and procedures involved in a proposed transmission line that will carry clean energy by underwater cable from the Kingdom to the city-state, according to the energy director-general.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) on energy cooperation was virtually signed to this effect on October 25 between Minister of Mines and Energy Suy Sem and Tan See Leng, Singaporean Minister for Manpower and Second Minister for Trade and Industry, the ministry said in a statement.
At the signing, Sem said the deal represents an important step for development in the Cambodian, Singaporean and regional energy sectors, promoting trade opportunities in the region as well as infrastructure improvements to power the shift towards renewables, the statement noted.
Ministry of Mines and Energy spokesman and energy director-general Heng Kunleang told The Post on October 25 that Singapore was the first country with whom Cambodia has signed such an MoU on energy exports. The deal spotlights the significant growth witnessed in the Cambodian clean and renewable energy sector in recent years, he underscored.
He noted that the joint technical working group would conduct research on energy production, low-carbon tech, information exchange on regulations and policies pertaining to human resource capacity development and renewable energy assessment.
The working group’s operations will create opportunities for projects in renewable energy and trade that could benefit the power grid and help the region take a step towards the ASEAN Energy Connectivity vision, thereby promoting energy security and sustainability in the 10-nation Southeast Asian bloc, he stressed.
“Although things are just starting out, it is a source of pride for Cambodia to transform from a country that imports electricity from neighbouring countries to one capable of supplying clean energy intra-regionally,” Kunleang said.
Armed with a series of new investments and upgrades, clean or renewable energy sources – including hydropower, solar, wind and biomass – accounted for a maximum of 80 per cent of Cambodia’s energy mix during this year’s rainy season at any given moment of time, he claimed.
He added that the ASEAN Energy Connectivity vision and move towards renewable would go a long way in fighting climate change and related regional and global issues, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and “keeping the planet beautiful”.
