China-Cambodia deal to back power plant

Monday, 13 December 2010
Chun Sophal
The Phnom Penh Post

Chhit Sam Arth President of NGO Forum on Cambodia said the government should encourage in-depth studies on the environmental impact of coal-fired power plants, as approved locations are near coastal areas potentially popular with tourists.

PRIME Minister Hun Sen will sign an agreement in China this week for the construction a US$362 million coal-fired power plant in Sihanoukville province, to be run as a joint venture between a local company and a Chinese firm.

The plant, approved by the Council of Ministers on Friday, is set to be built in Stoeng Hav Industrial Zone with a capacity of 270 MegaWatts of energy once complete, according to a government statement.

Cambodia International Development Group Co Ltd, a joint venture between unnamed local and Chinese firms, was granted a 33-year concession to build and operate the plant starting from next year.

Hun Sen said yesterday that he would sign a contract with China regarding the project during his five day-official visit to the People’s Republic this week.

Id Praing, Secretary of State for the Ministry of Industry, Mines, and Energy said yesterday that the new plant would be operating by 2014.

“We hope that under this project Cambodia would have additional power to meet the demand for electricity in the future,” he said.

MIME’s development plan to meet growing electricity demand includes building plants with 700 MW total capacity around Sihanoukville between 2011 and 2015.

Chhit Sam Arth President of NGO Forum on Cambodia said the government should encourage in-depth studies on the environmental impact of coal-fired power plants, as approved locations are near coastal areas potentially popular with tourists.

“We agree that Cambodia needs electric power, but we encourage the government and the companies developing such projects to pay attention to the impact in order not to affect the quality of underground water and the sea,” he said.

But Id Praing said the project was not likely to affect the coastal environment because a study has found that the expected level of carbon emissions was lower than international standards.

“We need power from these plants. It is a sign of development in this sector that will be able to supply more power as soon as possible, but we will never forget the challenges,” he said.

Cambodian company to build coal power plant

Dec 10, 2010

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia's government has given its approval for a local company to build a 700-megawatt coal-fired power plant to help cope with the country's electricity shortage.

A government press release said Friday that Cambodia International Investment Development Group Co, Ltd had been awarded a 33-year contract to build and operate a $362 million power plant in the coastal province of Preah Sihanouk, the first Cambodian company to undertake such a project.

The statement said the plant would produce 270 megawatts in its first phase, due to be completed by 2015.

In September, a Chinese company, Erdos Electrical Power & Metallurgical Co., announced plans to build a 700-megawatt coal power plant in the same province. It was not immediately clear if the projects were related.

[Malaysia] Leader to invest US$150mil in new Cambodia power plant

Monday June 29, 2009
By DAVID TAN
The Star (Malaysia)

GEORGE TOWN: Leader Universal Holdings Bhd will invest in a new power plant worth US$150mil to US$160mil in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, which is expected to commence operations in 2012.

Group managing director and chief executive officer Sean H’ng Chun Hsiang said the power-purchase agreement for the 100MW coal-fired power plant, which would replace the earlier agreement executed for the 200MW project, would be inked soon.

“We are also in talks with banks now and expect to finalise the financing for the project before the end of this year. We hope to start construction work on the plant soon,” he told StarBiz.

In February 2007, the group announced its winning bid to develop a 200MW coal-fired power plant in Sihanoukville with a local Cambodian partner on a 50:50 joint venture.

However, on Feb 1, 2009, it announced that the Cambodian government had approved to split the 200MW plant into two projects of 100MW each, allowing each original shareholder to develop its own project.

On June 11, Leader said it had formed a joint venture with Cambodian International Investment Development Group Co Ltd to develop the plant.

Leader owns 80% of the joint-venture company, which is also planning to develop another 700MW coal-fired power plant in Sihanoukville.

“This project will be progressively developed after the completion of the 100MW plant in 2012.

“The 700MW plant will be carried out in various phases, with each phase having the capacity to generate 100MW-200MW of power supply, to gradually meet the energy needs of Cambodia,” H’ng added.

Presently, the capacity of the power plants in Cambodia was around 410MW, compared with the forecast demand of 808MW by Electricite du Cambodge (the local state-owned power company), H’ng said.

“The demand is expected to increase to 1,915MW in 2015, eventually hitting 3,867MW in 2020.

“There are vast business opportunities for the power business in Cambodia. We have been building some power distribution lines there. We hope to also explore opportunities in the area of power transmission,” he added.

Leader’s first power plant, using heavy fuel oil, is located in Phnom Penh, catering to its one million population.

For the first quarter 2009, the power business contributed 8% to the group’s total revenue of RM444.7mil and 35% of its total operating profit of RM26.6mil.

On the group’s cable business, Leader’s order book as at end-March stood at about RM700mil, excluding some major recurring orders.

“Almost 40% of the group’s total revenue in the first quarter was from export orders. The group exports to over 20 countries in Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Oceania.

“We will continue to look at new opportunities in the overseas markets. The group is confident of the near-term prospects, given the implementation of the Government’s stimulus packages and also the demand arising from the implementation of the Bakun power transmission projects,” he added.

On the group’s revenue for 2009, H’ng said that although the prices of both aluminium and copper had increased recently, they were unlikely to hit the peak seen in 2008.

“Thus, we expect the group’s revenue to be correspondingly lower this year. The cost of aluminium and copper are mostly passed through to our customers.

“So although the movement of prices of aluminium and copper will impact our revenue, it will not materially impact our bottom line,” he said.

For the group’s first quarter ended March 31, revenue dropped by 31% compared with the previous corresponding quarter due to lower aluminium and copper prices.

The average London Metal Exchange price of copper was US$7,796 per tonne for the first quarter 2008 compared with US$3,428 for the first quarter of 2009. Similarly, the average price of aluminium dropped from US$2,742 per tonne in the first quarter 2008 to US$1,360 in the 2009 quarter.

National Assembly Passes Power Measure

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
08 May 2008

The National Assembly on Thursday approved a measure to guarantee compensation to Power Synergy Corporation for the operation of a power plant.

Power Synergy, a joint Cambodia-Malaysia venture, plans to invest $400 million to establish a coal plant in Sihanoukville, which some officials say will help power Cambodia and reduce electricity costs.

The new measure protects compensation for the plant in the event of political upheaval.

Cambodian People’s Party lawmaker Chiem Yeap said the plant will produce electricity for Cambodians and tax revenue for the government.

But opposition Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker Yim Sovan said the agreement was unlikely to reduce the present price of electricity.

Kong Vibol, secretary of state for the Ministry of Economy and Finance, told the National Assembly the agreement met international standards.