Germany finances US$74 million for developing kingdom’s rural infrastructure

• 29 November 2019
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Germany has provided approximately US$74 million for the development of rural power supply projects and rural roads in Cambodia, the Ministry of Economy and Finance stated in a press release on 28 November.

H.E Aun Pornmoniroth, Minister of Economy and Finance signed two agreements with German Ambassador Christian Berger. The first one is an agreement to finance energy efficiency projects for rural electricity supply, and the second one is for rural infrastructure development loans.

“The Federal Republic of Germany is the second European partner following the French Republic, who provides concessional loans to Cambodia,” the Minister said.

France provided its first loan to Cambodia in 2013, and now German financing will help meet national development plans focused on four priority sectors; people, road, power and water, the Minister added.

According to a report by the Council for the Development of Cambodia, only 22.47% of households have access to electricity (54% are urban dwellers and only 13% of rural households have electricity), meaning that 87% of rural households still do not have access to electricity. Electricité du Cambodge (EDC) aims to provide 100% of electricity to all villages across the country by 2020, and 70% of all the rural households by 2030.

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