A massive power outage Wednesday in Southern Vietnam brought rolling blackouts that lasted for hours to Ho Chi Minh City, the entire southeastern region of Vietnam and large sections of Phnom Penh.
Vietnam’s state-owned Southern Power Corporation said Wednesday that the problem occurred around 2 p.m. following the breakdown of a 500-kilovolt transmission line that also supplies Cambodia with much-needed electricity. …
“We have only about 30 percent of our normal supply of electricity to distribute to important areas of the city, but we are trying to fix the problem,” the [Eletricite du Cambodge] official said yesterday afternoon, adding that Vietnam provides Cambodia with about 40 percent of its national electricity supply.
Keo Sovannarith, deputy director of the Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority, confirmed the city’s water supply had been hit by the outage.
“When the water supply factory looses electricity from the EdC, the machine-which uses electricity to work-can’t pump water to the pipes,” he said. …
Thailand-based Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding Pcl (RATCH) has “seriously assessed” investment possibility in neighbouring countries including Cambodia, a company statement said last Thursday.
It said it had geared up for business expansion in domestic and international markets in the potential existing investment bases Laos and Australia, but is also considering Cambodia, Myanmar and the Philippines. …
About 300 people on Saturday blocked off a stretch of National Road 5 in Banteay Meanchey province protesting what they call is an unfair increase in electricity prices. …
Protesters believe that the private electricity supplier, Sok Vitith, altered the Commune’s electricity converter without telling the consumers so that it now produces 160 kilovolt-amps (KVA) instead of the usual 100 KVA.
“I reject the claim I did it for my own benefit. I had to do it because there was not enough electricity to supply the commune, so in April, I changed the electricity cabinet from 100 KVA to 160 KVA,” he [Sok Vitith] said.
Blaming the villager’s soaring usage on the increased use of appliances during recent hot weather, Mr. Vitith said that he had accepted villagers complaints and had yesterday reinstalled the 100 KVA converter. …
The Kingdom imported 412,190 tonnes of petroleum in the first quarter of 2013, compared with 471,000 tonnes in the same period the previous year, a decline of 12 per cent, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
A private sector representative said the drop does not mean a slowdown in production but came as a result of more stock being kept over from 2012 because of price fluctuations.
The data showed that between January and March of this year the country spent $397 million on petroleum, down 15 per cent from $469 million during the same period last year. …
Energy Minister Pongsak Ruktapongpisal has given the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) the green light to proceed with a plan to build coal-powered plants in Myanmar and Cambodia – providing Thailand with 10,000 megawatts of electricity. Egat has also been instructed to negotiate the purchase of nuclear power from China in order to bring down the cost of electricity. …
In addition, the Energy Ministry has also been discussing the possibility of investing in a coal-powered plant in Cambodia to produce 4,000MW of electricity. Thailand hopes that buying power from Cambodia will keep the domestic cost of electricity from exceeding Bt6 per unit. Egat also plans to go ahead with its coal-powered project in Krabi once it has reached an “understanding” with residents and businesses protesting against the deal. …
In addition to investing in coal-operated power plants from neighbouring countries, Egat is also looking at investing in hydro-electric power projects within the region. …
Illegal border movements, illegal logging, drug trafficking, illegal fishing and unofficial cross border trade are among the issues being confronted by Laos and Cambodia along their shared border at the moment.
The report was made during a meeting held between Champassak provincial authorities from Laos and Strung Treng provincial authorities of Cambodia, in order to discuss various cross border issues which are affecting public order and security in the region. …
In addition, the two provinces agreed to support and facilitate the implementation of the cooperation projects stipulated under Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam (CLV) Development Triangle Area. …
The following is the full text of the joint press communique between China and Cambodia issued on Tuesday during the official visit by Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Pedei Techo Hun Sen of the Kingdom of Cambodia to China:
Joint Press Communique Between the People’s Republic of China and the Kingdom of Cambodia
1. At the invitation of Premier Li Keqiang of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Pedei Techo Hun Sen of the Kingdom of Cambodia paid an official visit to the People’s Republic of China on 6-10 April 2013. During the visit, Prime Minister Hun Sen met with President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China and Mr. Zhang Dejiang, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and held talks with Premier Li Keqiang. ….
China’s expanding investment portfolio in Cambodia has brought into sharper focus the darker side of the Asian giant’s “development projects” in the impoverished Southeast Asian nation.
And it is in the southwestern corner of Cambodia—known for its rich biodiversity, forest covered hills and bubbling rivers—where this Chinese economic footprint is leaving a defining mark. A plan to build a 400 km-long railway line through this rugged green terrain is the most recent Chinese addition to growing list that has alarmed Cambodian environmentalists. …
Environment Minister Mok Mareth reportedly told the Cambodia Daily newspaper in an interview at the time that the paperwork had not included an environment impact assessment (EIA).
The same publication had also got Transport Minister Tram Iv Tek to affirm in an interview that he was in the dark about the details of this massive investment.
It confirms a pattern that is disturbingly familiar to environmentalists who have been monitoring much longer “development” projects: the way Chinese companies are building large hydropower projects in the same southwestern corner targeted for the new railway line. …
China’s hydropower projects, now estimated to be over $1.6 billion in investments, are aiming to generate 915 megawatts of power in a country that suffers from an energy deficit. Only a quarter of the country’s 14.5 million population has access to power from the national grid. …
The recent power shortages have left residents of Phnom Penh out in the heat and dark, but amidst their mounting frustration, state-owned energy supplier Electricite du Cambodge (EDC) has announced it will be purchasing more power from Thailand to address the shortfall.
Keo Rattanak, director-general of the EDC, said in a company notice that the EDC had already purchased an additional 15 megawatts (MW) that would go toward addressing the power cuts along National Road 4.
He added that in the next two to three days, the company would purchase an additional 10 MW and a further 10 MW before the Khmer New Year holidays in April. …
Ty Thany, executive director at the Electricity Authority of Cambodia, said the measure could lead to higher energy prices since “Thailand and Vietnam, they sell us power, but want to sell it at a high price.”
San Vibol, an energy researcher at the Royal University of Phnom Penh, feels the government should instead develop an energy policy encouraging efficiency and renewability. …
Cambodia’s national electricity provider yesterday appealed to the public to unplug from the national energy supply in an effort to alleviate chronic seasonal power shortages that are causing blackouts across Phnom Penh and the rest of the country.
Eletricite du Cambodge (EdC) published an announcement asking people with back-up generators- most likely businesses- to use their own power supplies so that electricity could be freed up for the rest of the population. …
Last week, the Edc said that the 190-megawatt Kamchay dam in Kampot province- Cambodia’s only large-scale online hydropower dam- was operating at only 10 percent capacity due to a lack of water, which was a significant cause of the blackouts. …
Cambodia’s steady economic growth has caused a spike in demand, and electricity shortages have been compounded, according to the announcement, by a shortfall in the amount of energy Vietnam had promised to sell to Cambodia.
“Of the 250 Megawatts promised to us by Vietnam, only 170 megawatts were made available due to Vietnam’s own shortages,” the statement says.
Any demands the EdC is making on the public to switch off power are short-term, it said, as a new coal-fired power plant in Preah Sihanouk province is planned to go online in June, while the rainy season will refill hydropower capacity. …
In the meantime, the EdC said it is taking its own steps, including increasing the operating times of the Kamchay dam and Kompong Speu’s Kirirom dam. It will purchase more electricity in the next few days from Thailand.
“We are getting 15 megawatts from Thailand to supply Phnom Penh,” the announcement says, adding that it hoped in the next week to buy another 10-megawatts from neighboring countries, and to add a further 10-megawatts before Khmer News Year in April. …
Senior representatives for Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and ASEAN met here Tuesday and issued a joint statement highlighting their agreement to forge stronger mutual investment, trade, transport and scientific cooperation links.
The joint statement was released at the conclusion of the 6th annual Cambodia-Laos-Myanmar-Vietnam (CLMV) Summit, which was chaired by Lao Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong and attended by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, Vice President of Myanmar Mauk Kham, Prime Minister of Vietnam Nguyen Tan Dung and Secretary- General of ASEAN Le Luong Minh. …
The joint statement called for enhanced cooperation in exchanging information and technology and joint research in agriculture, fisheries, forestry, livestock, animal health and husbandry, aquaculture, industry and energy. …
Three days after it went out, power had yet to be restored to large parts of Siem Reap province yesterday, badly impacting local businesses in the popular tourist hub of Siem Reap City and seeing a rush of people to buy generators.
The power failure followed an accident on Thursday morning in which a truck collided with a pylon supplying electricity from Thailand – cutting off access to electricity to large parts of Siem Reap province. …
Cambodia’s largest opposition party has expressed concern that China’s investment in the country is heavily skewed towards exploiting natural resources, wreaking havoc on the environment.
China is Cambodia’s largest investor by a wide margin, having poured U.S. $9.7 billion into the country over the past 18 years, a government report said Wednesday. …
But opposition Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker Son Chhay warned that China is having excessive control over Cambodia’s natural resources as companies from the Asian giant carry out extensive mineral exploration and logging and embark on hydropower projects in the impoverished country. …
Cambodia, Beijing’s top Southeast Asian ally, has borrowed vast sums from China in recent years to finance road, hydropower and defense projects, many of which are contracted to Chinese firms.
“China gives us loans, but they allow companies to set high prices,” Son Chhay said.
Cambodia owes about U.S. $3 billion dollars in loans from China, he said, adding that the debt gives the giant neighbor too much political influence in the country. …
Cambodia has attracted 9.17 billion U.S. dollar investment from China in the last 18 years ( 1994-2012), making China become the largest investor in this country, showed a government report on Wednesday. …
According to the report, China’s investment in Cambodia focused on the fields of energy, mineral resources, garment industry, banking and finance, real estate, tourism and agriculture.
Energy supplies will be more secure once territorial disputes between Thailand and Cambodia are resolved, Department of Mineral Fuels director-general Songpob Polchan said on Friday.
Mr Songpob said that the sooner Thailand and Cambodia are able to work out their differences, the sooner they can exploit natural gas reserves and ensure energy security, especially with energy consumption rising in both countries every year.
He said the border dispute around the Preah Vihear temple is unrelated to a separate maritime dispute. Even if the border problem has been settled and drilling concession has been granted, it will be another 10 years before the gas could be extracted. He urged the government to consider public sentiment on the issue. …
Vietnamese enterprises so far have invested in 124 projects in Cambodia with total registered capital of some US$2.5 billion, four times higher than the figure in 2009.
As such, Vietnam is now among the top five investors in Cambodia, said the Association of Vietnamese Investors in Cambodia (AVIC) at a conference to review three years promoting Vietnam trade and investment in Cambodia held in Phnom Penh this Tuesday. …
Bilateral trade volume between Cambodia and Vietnam jumped to 3.3 billion U.S. dollars in 2012, a 18 percent rise from 2.8 billion U.S. dollars in 2011, according to a report provided by the Association of Vietnam Investment in Cambodia on Saturday. …
The report also said that Vietnamese investment in Cambodia had reached 2.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2012, up 25 percent from 2 billion U.S. dollars in 2011, ranking Vietnam as the 5th largest investor in the country. …
Vietnamese investors are planning to invest more in accommodation services and to build hotels in at least three provinces that Vietnamese visitors traveling to the world-knowned Angkor Wat will travel past. …
The Czech Republic is going to set up its embassy residence here next year in order to strengthen and expand bilateral relations and cooperation between the two nations, the newly-designated ambassador of the Czech Republic to Cambodia Vitezslav Grepl said Tuesday. …
He said the permanent residence in Phnom Penh will be easier for Czech to promote bilateral ties with Cambodia, promising that Czech will continue helping Cambodia in education, health, agriculture, and energy.
Besides, he pledged to encourage business people and investors from Czech do businesses in Cambodia in the fields of energy, water management, industries, environment and tourism. …
The national electricity provider has warned residents in Phnom Penh and in Kompong Speu and Kandal provinces to expect power outages in the coming months as supply would likely fall short of demand throughout the dry season.
In a statement issued Friday, Electricite du Cambodge (EdC) said that from the beginning of this month until June 2013, it would be unable to meet the demand for energy, though it offered no explanation for the power shortage. …
