Renovation has begun in Cambodia on Kirirom hydro station and the transmission line that will link it to Phnom Penh city, 110km away. China Electric Power Technology Import and Export Corporation is the main investor in the project, which is going ahead on a build, operate, transfer basis. The company signed a contract with the Cambodian government in July 2000 and will invest US$20M in the scheme.
Prime Minister Hun Sen presided over the ceremony that marked the beginning of work on the site. He said that the investment of the Chinese company, which is affiliated to the State Power Corporation of China, indicated that China has growing confidence in the Cambodian economy. He added that Cambodia would welcome the investment of private companies in the development of its hydro capacity.
Kirirom was first built with aid from Yugoslavia but destroyed during civil war in the 1970s. Its rehabilitation is expected to take two years. After completion it will have a total installed capacity of 12MW.