Energy

Against the backdrop of high electricity costs and energy imports, Cambodian businesses could save millions of dollars annually by implementing energy-efficient business practices, insiders said yesterday. “It is clear that energy efficiency has multiple benefits, not only to the tourism sector but also other economic sectors ...

Cambodia imported 1.31 billion tonnes of oil in the first 10 months of this year, a 2.2 per cent slide compared to 1.34 billion tonnes in the same period last year, according to data from the Ministry of Commerce. Industry experts said the drop did not ...

A month after a company owned by tycoon Kith Meng was ordered to suspend logging the reservoir area of the controversial Lower Sesan II dam, the government yesterday threatened legal action against it if its orders aren’t followed. In a letter obtained by the Post yesterday, the Council ...

As Laos pushes toward its goal of becoming the “battery of Asia” through hydropower, its newfound claim that the location for the proposed Don Sahong dam is not on the Mekong River’s main stream is provoking incredulity from some observers. Less than two kilometres north of ...

Vietnam has joined Cambodia in questioning the sustainability of the planned Don Sahong dam project on the Mekong River in southern Laos, saying more environmental impact studies are needed before the scheme moves forward. Le Duc Trung, director general of the Vietnam National Mekong Committee under ...

A new study and accompanying short film released yesterday call for all lower Mekong dam developers to halt plans until further impact studies can be made. Hydropower dams will have a greater impact on river flows than even climate change, according to research by the University ...

The CPP-dominated National Assembly on Wednesday approved a law that will see the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy split into two separate ministries, but has yet to decide who will head the new bodies. The CPP’s 68 lawmakers unanimously passed a measure that will see ...

Lawmakers from the ruling Cambodian People’s Party yesterday unanimously voted to pass legislation which will create three new government ministries. Sixty-six CPP representatives voted to create a Ministry of Public Function, which will oversee the affairs of civil servants. The MPs also followed through on a floated ...

Sixty-six National Assembly members of the ruling CPP on Tuesday unanimously approved Cambodia’s $3.56 billion draft budget for 2014 without debate and without even the hint of an opposition, whose 55 lawmakers-elect are boycotting parliament in protest over July’s still-disputed national election result. The ruling party ...

Laos is pushing ahead with construction of a second dam on the Mekong River despite objections from environmental and civil society groups. Work on the main part of the Don Sahong hydropower dam near the Cambodian border in southern Laos will begin by the end of ...

An environmental group has hit out at the Lao government for organising a tour of the proposed Don Sahong hydropower dam site, saying it should not be trying to “sell” a project that has not been regionally approved. Other NGOs have also warned of the ...

Mangrove forests along Cambodia’s coast in Kampot support more than 100,000 families and create a diverse ecosystem that is home to hundreds of unique species. But coastal development projects, coupled with locals’ reliance on the forest for their livelihoods, threaten to decimate more than 1,000 hectares ...

The Cambodian National Petroleum Authority (CNPA), formerly overseen by the Council of Ministers, will be integrated into the Ministry of Mines and Energy, according to senior CPP officials, the latest cut to the vast portfolio of government bodies controlled by Deputy Prime Minister Sok An. Since ...

The National Assembly is set to dismantle the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy, rebuilding it as the Ministry of Mines and Energy and creating a new Ministry of Industry and Handicrafts, a senior CPP lawmaker confirmed on Friday. The move comes just a few weeks ...

Laos is taking steps to convince neighboring countries of the merits of the planned Don Sahong hydropower project over Mekong River. Lao government officials organized a site visit on Sunday and Monday so that interested parties could see the site first-hand and get a sense of ...

A huge haul of river sand dredged in Cambodia has been quarantined at the southern Indian port city of Cochin since its arrival in April despite a ban on sand exports instituted by Prime Minister Hun Sen in 2009. India’s Deccan Chronicle news­paper reported on Tuesday ...

Months ago, Chinese engineers were posting markers for a hydropower dam opposed by villagers in Koh Kong province’s Areng Valley. This week, in marked contrast, monks draped trees in iconic saffron sashes as they blessed the very forest the dam would destroy. The saffron robes ...

Ningbo Thermal Power (shse:600982) will invest less than USD 16.67 million in building a thermal power arm to develop a heat and power cogeneration project in Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone (SSEZ), Cambodia. The joint venture will be responsible for building the heat and power cogeneration ...

Environmentalists and NGOs are threatening to sue developers of a controversial hydropower dam, claiming the project would cause irreversible damage to the Mekong River. The Don Sahong dam, a 260-megawatt project proposed on a site less than two kilometres north of the Cambodian-Lao border, is expected ...

PTT Plc, Thailand’s giant oil and gas conglomerate, has renewed its concession with the Cambodian government to provide jet fuel services for another five years at airports in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. Senior executive vice-president Auttapol Rerkpiboon said PTT will provide jet fuel service at ...

The controversial Don Sahong hydropower dam, which Laos says it will soon build just a kilometre from the Cambodian border, will not have significant effects on the Mekong River, according to an environmental impact assessment paid for by the dam’s builder. Obtained yesterday, the report – ...

Auto parts manufacturer Denso Cambodia, which has rented space in the Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone (PPSEZ) since July, will expand operations by building its own factory, according to a company representative. Administrative manager Seng Chanthy said yesterday that the factory will cover 10 hectares and ...

Singapore signed two energy-related Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with Cambodia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), at the Singapore Energy Summit on Monday. This is part of its efforts to strengthen partnerships in the energy sector. Second Minister for Trade and Industry, Mr S Iswaran, ...

The Cambodian government has entered into a public-private partnership with a little-known company named ALEX Corporation Co Ltd to develop power lines from plants in Preah Sihanouk province to Phnom Penh, according to the Council of Ministers. The private firm will invest $119.1 million in a ...