Written by Thet Sambath
The Phnom Penh Post
Proposed 10 dams will boost irrigation, generate electricity
THE Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology has begun preliminary studies for the building of a series of dams across four provinces.
"We are planning to build more than 10 dams and related irrigation systems in four northwestern provinces to ensure rice production during both the rainy and dry seasons," Veng Sakhon, secretary of state for the ministry, told the Post this week.
The proposed dams would provide the country with a more modern irrigation system as well as generate electricity for rural communities, he said.
However, other dam projects have come under fire for their impact on the environment and lack of transparency.
The ministry aims to build four dams in Pursat province that would supply irrigation to more than 35,000 hectares of land and generate as much as 300 megawatts of power for local communities. Other proposed dam sites include locations in Battambang, Kampong Chhnang and Banteay Meanchey provinces, and the ministry is consulting with engineers from China and South Korea, Veng Sakhon said.
He added that the government must look outside the country for the money needed to complete the ambitious project.
"We will need more than US$4 billion," he said, adding that the ministry is still in the preliminary stages of planning the massive projects.
Chan Tong Yves, secretary of state for the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, said Cambodia must improve its irrigation systems to meet greater agricultural and export demands. "We have suffered drought in some areas, but nothing serious yet," he said.
Meas Sotheavy, head of the statistics office at the ministry's Planning and Statistics Department, said only a relatively small portion of Cambodia's rice fields is irrigated.
"Now, only about 30 percent of rice paddies are connected to irrigation systems. We'd like to get that number to 40 percent by the end of this year," she said.
THE Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology has begun preliminary studies for the building of a series of dams across four provinces.
"We are planning to build more than 10 dams and related irrigation systems in four northwestern provinces to ensure rice production during both the rainy and dry seasons," Veng Sakhon, secretary of state for the ministry, told the Post this week.
The proposed dams would provide the country with a more modern irrigation system as well as generate electricity for rural communities, he said.
However, other dam projects have come under fire for their impact on the environment and lack of transparency.
The ministry aims to build four dams in Pursat province that would supply irrigation to more than 35,000 hectares of land and generate as much as 300 megawatts of power for local communities. Other proposed dam sites include locations in Battambang, Kampong Chhnang and Banteay Meanchey provinces, and the ministry is consulting with engineers from China and South Korea, Veng Sakhon said.
He added that the government must look outside the country for the money needed to complete the ambitious project.
"We will need more than US$4 billion," he said, adding that the ministry is still in the preliminary stages of planning the massive projects.
Chan Tong Yves, secretary of state for the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, said Cambodia must improve its irrigation systems to meet greater agricultural and export demands. "We have suffered drought in some areas, but nothing serious yet," he said.
Meas Sotheavy, head of the statistics office at the ministry's Planning and Statistics Department, said only a relatively small portion of Cambodia's rice fields is irrigated.
"Now, only about 30 percent of rice paddies are connected to irrigation systems. We'd like to get that number to 40 percent by the end of this year," she said.
6 comments:
Wow!
I can smell the battery of Southeast Asia for real!
Cause I heard from either Mr. Hor or Mr. Sok said this last time.
"Cambodia is the batter of Southeast Asia:.
Go HUN SEN go! We need to jump start Cambodia to the golden age!
Don't let the Thai looks down at us anymore!
yes, it's about time cambodian people stop relying solely on nature such as rain and so on to provide water for farming. nowadays, people all over the world use modern technology to help them grow their crops, to do business, to travel, etc... it is time for cambodia to be modernized in some way, if not everthing! god bless cambodia.
If agriculture sector is to growth and is aiming for export then dams/water catchments and irrigation systems shall be in place for use as first and utmost need apart from extension services and other agriculature inputs.
Rely on rain for cultivating crops is no longer appropriate as the weather pattern oftenly and drastically change - due to climate change
Why Cambodians become materialistic?
Yesterday, KFC security guards took my old motorcyle out of the shade even though there were many books under the rain.
They prefered to put new motorycle without any books under the shade? That's how Kith Meng teach his staff to do that?
So unfair!
haha, Cambodia is going back the way that Khmer Rough hadn't completed.
The only different is that KR used the local resources without outside assistance and mainly were human labor. But the incumbent government is borrowing the money from foreighners and pocketing part of it. Which is the better? Many may rather choose the current one.
Yes building dams is good, but please don't forget the maintenance, without maintenance the dams will need to rebuild after 30 years like the KR-build dams now.
And please don't forget to utilize the local labor too, many of the manpowers now are doing nothing, only feed themselve with alcohol and then beating thier wives and rap their relatives. Give them some work to do to support their families and it is a chance to educate them to value the achievement from their hard working and their families
We can't trust the Thieves (SRP). They pocketed too much of our loan for our infrastructures.
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