Cambodian Govt Expected to Issue Plan for Rural ElectricityThe Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy and donor agencies expect the government to issue an official strategy next month for implementing rural electrification, according to the Cambodia Daily on Monday.A three-day conference last week ended with no clear funding plan, it reported. Consultants have estimated it will cost US$1.14 billion over the next 30 years to bring power to 70 percent of Cambodia. Ty Norin, deputy director of the state-run utility Electricite du Cambodge (EdC), said the government has 25 million dollars from the World Bank and 5 million dollars from the Global Environment Funds to help pay for the project. Currently, only about 7 percent of the rural population has access to a reliable electricity supply. Another 45 percent has less dependable battery-powered electricity Ty Norin said the conference developed five major strategies. They include an annual 9 percent increase in the number of households with reliable electricity, encouraging EdC and private electricity producers to find new sources of hydroelectric and solar energy, and training courses provided by the government for 600 existing rural electricity enterprises. |
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