Chinese building four hydroelectric plants in Cambodia

The first has been completed and will limit power shortages and cut reliance on diesel-fueled electricity.

Three other hydropower dams with Chinese investments are being built. These are the Tatay River hydropower dam with the capacity of 246 megawatts, the Atay River hydropower dam of 120 megawatts and the Russei Chrum Krom with the capacity of 338 megawatts.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen recently inaugurated the Kirirom III Hydro Power Plant that has a capacity of 18 megawatts and can produce 78 million kilowatt hours a year.

The State Grid Corporation of China invested in the project and was responsible for building the plant, which cost US$47.1 million. Electricity from the plant will be sold to the state-owned Electricity of Cambodia at US$0.791 per kilowatt hour.

"The dam is a new achievement for Cambodia under the investment from China," said Hun Sen.

Cambodia has a total electric power capacity of 790 megawatts. Of this total, Cambodia buys 196 megawatts from Vietnam, 95 megawatts from Thailand and 2 megawatts from Laos. The remaining capacity is generated by local hydroelectric dams and oil-fired power plants.