New Delhi: Cambodia‘s largest hydropower project officially began producing electricity Monday as the country tries to increase its energy capacity to reduce energy imports and help jump-start industrial expansion.
Prime Minister Hun Sen inaugurated the 400-megawatt Lower Sesan II hydropower dam in the northeastern province of Stung Treng. The project, constructed on a build-operate-transfer basis, will boost the country’s production of electricity by 20 percent, according to the Ministry of Mines and Energy.
It was built over four years at a cost of nearly $800 million and is a joint venture of China’s Hydrolancang International Energy, which has a 51 percent stake, Cambodia’s Royal Group with 39 percent and Vietnam’s EVN International with 10 percent.
The dam is expected to bring in almost $30 million in tax revenue yearly. Ownership will be handed over to the government after 40 years.
