China’s Huaneng contributes to sustainable development of Cambodia

A cloud open day event was held by China Huaneng Group (CHNG), one of China’s State-owned energy giants, on November 23.

Held under the theme “Energize where you are”, the event saw the presentation of the China Huaneng Lower Sesan 2 Hydropower Station and the release of the Sustainability Report of Chinese Enterprises in Cambodia.

Located on the main tributary of the Sesan River in the northeast of Cambodia, the Lower Sesan 2 Hydropower Station has been dubbed the “Three Gorges in Cambodia”. The installed capacity of the power station is 400 MW, accounting for 14% of the country’s total, with an approximate annual generation of 2 billion kWh, according to CHNG.

Through video clips, villagers in various Cambodian counties shared stories of how their lives have been changed by the power plant.

The Lower Sesan 2 Hydropower Station has been dubbed the “Three Gorges in Cambodia”. (Photo provided to People’s Daily Online)

“Since we moved to the new village, we’ve had good roads, good houses, and new wells, and the power plant has set up a power grid for the village. The price of power is also lower, making our lives much better!” said Miheng, a local living in a resettlement village that CHNG helped build.

During the building of the power plant, CHNG invested an extra USD 1.5 million, without any obligation to do so under the BOT Agreement or from any obligatory order from Cambodian government, in order to minimize the project’s impact on the river’s eco-system and maintain the regional biodiversity of fish species.

China has been Cambodia’s largest foreign direct investor and biggest trade partner for eight consecutive years. Chinese investment came as an active response to the call of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and closely meshes with the Cambodian Quadrilateral Strategy to start businesses in Cambodia.

“CHNG will adhere to the principle of achieving shared growth through discussion and collaboration, further green energy cooperation along BRI countries, meet the requirements of energy development and transition of the host country, and provide safe, clean, efficient and intelligent energy and electricity solutions under the principle of commercialization” said Lin Weijie, Chief Economist of CHNG at the event.