Cambodia to invest $500 million for power transmission line

via CAAI

Wednesday, 16 March 2011 03:42 DAP-NEWS/VIBOL

PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA, MARCH 16, 2011-Cambodia will invest $ 500 million for power transmission line to bring the power from hydropower to households, senior officials said on Tuesday.

“We will invest some $500 million during the next five year in transmission line. Power transmission lines is under master plan in 2021,” Dr Hang Chuon Naron, secretary of state for economy ministry said in a seminar of 2011 Cambodia outlook conference.

He added that the power will help poverty reduction and expand the business transaction in the country. In his speech, he explained that the country need electrify with cheap prices of electricity to develop country and it need other sources of future growth , and Cambodian needs human resources development, agriculture development, processing industry, new industry, soft and hard infrastructure, expand tourism from culture to beach tourism.

“Cambodia will become a major regional exporter of rubber rice. The country needs electricity with cheap price to expand those fields,” he stresses. Those fields need electricity demand.

Report from ministry of energy and industry in 2015, Cambodia needs 5,000 gwah. And fuel mixed generation in national grid and in Phnom Penh. It added annual electricity demand growth rate in country 19 per cent while in Phnom Penh. The electricity demands growth rate high as 25 per cent. The annual electricity demands per capital increased from 138.4 kwh in 2009 to 159.2 kwh by 2020.

It said: the peak capacity supply increased from 472 Mw in 209 to 538 mw in 2010, at that same time, the capacity supply in Phnom Penh was 300 mw. Policy of electricity target, 70 per cent for rural households have access to quality to quality electricity services by 2030. And 100 per cent villages have aces to electricity services by 2020.

“In 2010, the national electrification just reached to 29 per cent while in the household in urban areas were almost 100 per cent electrified and only 12 .3 per cent of the total household in rural areas. Besides supply, Cambodia imported electricity from Laos, Thailand and Vietnam with total capacity about 225 mw in 2010,”it said, adding that Cambodia imported electricity mainly from Vietnam 67 per cent, Thailand about 32 per cent and Laos about 1 per cent.

It increased about 48 per cent from 2009. Cambodia has good potential of hydropower about 10,000 mw. At the present, about 10 percent to the potential has been under construction. Cambodia signed already MOU for 2200 mw with foreign companies from Vietnam at northeastern region of the country. Under construction about 1,000 mw is about 27 per cent at the southeastern provinces. And 10,000 mw hydropower needs at the western region of the country.