Phase-II Nirodh water treatment plant in operation

• 30 May 2017
• Construction Focus
• 3935 Views

The Phase II Nirodh water treatment plant commenced operations in April providing service to the outskirts and southern areas of Phnom Penh with a capacity of 560,000 cubic metres.

Located in Phnom Penh’s Chbar Ampov district, the USD60 million water treatment plant has been co-funded by the public-run Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority-PPWSA (USDD4.9 million) with another USD36 million in loans from the French Development Agency (AFD).

Construction of Phase II took 30 months starting in August 2014 and was built by French-based VINCI Construction Grands Projects with technical support by France-based Safege Consultancy. During the official opening of Phase II, H.E. Cham Prasidh, Minister of Industry and Handicrafts reported that construction of the Phase I treatment plant began in August 2010 and was put in operation in June 2013. It cost USD90 million funded via loans of USD40 million from the Japan Development Agency (JICA) with another USD20 million from the AFD to the PPWSA.

With the combined facilities, Nirodh treatment plants have now doubled their capacity from 130,000 cubic metres to 560,000 cubic metres daily which allows it to supply up to 331,000 households currently living in Phnom Penh’s outskirts and Ta Khmao town.

“Water demand across Cambodia has increased substantially, especially in the capital city with an increase of 14,000 families annually since 2004,” the minister said.

Attending the grand opening ceremony on 5 April, Samdech Prime Minister Hun Sen recommended that the authorities purchase private water supply infrastructure in Kandal province and continue to supply water to people, especially the newly-included communes and villages, at the same price as those living in Phnom Penh. He also advised on the establishment of an affordable electrical tariff for nationwide water treatment plants so that they can offer a more affordable water tariff to people.

“The quality of water it [Nirodh Water Treatment Plant] supplies is far better than that we did in 1980s, because people can drink from the tap right away. However, for reasons of healthcare, we should boil it,” he admired.

The Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority is an autonomous institution that supplies water to Phnom Penh and to certain areas of Takhmao and Kandal province. In response to demand, the PPWSA has invested in the expansion of water supply systems, water treatment plants, and extended distribution lines with the support from the AFD, World Bank, and Japan International Cooperation Agency.

According to statistics from PPWSA, 20 percent of Phnom Penh residents had access to the city water supply in 1993. But over the last two decades, water coverage in the city has grown more than four fold.

There are more projects in the works outside Phnom Penh. JJICA announced two years ago a USD30 million initiative to build two water supply plants in Kampong Cham and Battambang provinces, a joint venture between Japan and the Kingdom.