Third Coal Power Plant in Sihanoukville to Start Construction Next Year

• 12 July 2018
• Local News
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Sample photo by Wikimedia

The Cambodian government has given the green light tothe construction plansfor a two-unit coal-fired power plant in Sihanoukville Province worth more than US$1 billion, according to H.E. Victor Jona, Director General of the General Department of Energy for the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME).

In a phone interview with Construction & Property Magazineon 11 July, 2018, H.E. Victor Jona confirmed that the two-unit coal fired power plant proposed by Cambodia International Investment Development Group (CIIDG) has been approved and the construction will begin next year.

CIIDC is a Cambodia-based company owned by Oknha Lao Meng Khin and his wife Oknha Choeung Sopheap,publicly known as Yeay Phu. Currently, the company is the operator of the 270 megawatt powerplant in Sihanoukville Province.

With an estimated investment of up to US$1.2 billion, CIIDG will build a coal-fired power plant with two units each with a capacity togenerate350 megawatts of electricity, bringing a total of 700 megawatts.

The investment project is under the concession scheme of build-operate-own (BOO) for 35 years. Currently, CIIDG is looking for investment partner for the project, and H.E. Victor Jona believes a Chinese firm might be interested.

Construction is expected to finish by 2023; although H.E. Victor Jona did not have any information at the time of the interview regarding the size of the construction area.

The project will help generate at least 150 jobs as well as sustain the electricity supply for household consumption andfactories, he added.

Currently, there are two coal-fired power plants in Sihanoukville Province, one from CIIDG and another one from Malaysian firm Leader Universal Holdings.

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