Cambodia Asks China to Fund Power Cables

Two weeks after Prime Minister Hun Sen returned from China with more than half a billion dollars in new loans and grants, Cambodia once again asked Beijing for money on Thursday. In a bilateral discussion held alongside this week’s series of meetings between Asean energy ministers, Cambodia asked a delegation of Chinese energy officials for $50 million per year to help provide electricity to rural Cambodians, Minister of Industry, Mines and Energy Suy Sern said. … Mr. Sern said that the money would go toward laying electricity cables, and private companies would then sell that power to villagers. … Mr. Sern said that in a separate meeting yesterday with Thai Energy Minister Arak Chonlatanon, a $3 billion investment was confirmed from a part-state owned Thai energy company to build a coal-fired plant in Koh Kong province. …