The 107km-long transmission line will be developed by SchneiTec Co Ltd under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model for a 39 year lease contract – four for construction and 35 for doing business – at a cost of $110,948,912, according to plans approved by the government in October 2020. Heng Chivoan
State-run energy supplier Electricite du Cambodge (EdC) and the Battambang Provincial Administration are urging stakeholders to speed up studies on a planned 500kV high-voltage transmission line that is set to be built from the Cambodian-Thai border to the Battambang substation, to increase supply capacity and unlock more investment.
The 107km-long transmission line will be developed by SchneiTec Co Ltd under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model for a 39 year lease contract – four for construction and 35 for doing business – at a cost of $110,948,912, according to plans approved by the government in October 2020. The project also covers the construction of 257 power transmission poles.
The BOT model is a form of project financing where the public sector grants concessions to a private entity to build and operate projects for a specified period a time, after which ownership is typically transferred back to the government.
Administration director Moul Thon told The Post on January 30 that provincial authorities are making every effort for the project to become a reality as soon as is feasible.
The additional source of power carried by the transmission line will not only improve electricity availability in rural areas, but also draw in more investors and travellers to the northwestern province, he said.
“With more power supply and distribution, there’ll be more opportunities to attract investors and boost growth,” he added.
He suggested that the transmission line would likely run from Thailand’s Sa Kaeo province through Battambang’s northwesternmost district of Sampov Loun, then southeast to Bavel district, east to Thma Koul district, southeast to Battambang town – where the substation is located – and finally east to Sangke district.
However, Thon noted that the impact assessment and other associated studies were still too preliminary to provide a concrete estimate on a groundbreaking date.
EdC deputy managing director Praing Chulasa held a series of meetings last week with the administration as well as relevant government bodies throughout Battambang province.
Chulasa noted that an EdC team has worked with the provincial administration on field inspections and collecting narrative accounts and data from people who may be affected by construction of the transmission line.
Acknowledging the extent of work left to be done, he called on provincial authorities to set up a sub-committee to address the potential impact to land, houses and edible trees along the route of the project.
Battambang provincial governor Sok Lou pledged to pull out all the stops for the project, and instructed pertinent local authorities to work in effective cooperation with EdC to ensure that the impact management process is completed as soon as possible, and lend support during the construction phase.
Total national electricity capacity reached 2,916.02MW at end-2020, up by 22.92 per cent year-on-year from 2,372.22MW, the latest figures from the Electricity Authority of Cambodia (EAC) indicate.
Of that, 1,318.95MW came from non-renewable energy sources – coal and oil – and 1,597.07MW from renewable energy sources – hydropower, solar and biomass, it said.
