Phnom Penh (FN), April 5 – Cambodia decided to cancel the deal with Turkey’s electric-generating ship due to disagreement on some conditions, particularly the timely inconvenience, according to Prime Minister Hun Sen at the cabinet meeting on Friday at the Peace Palace.
The ship expects to arrive Cambodia in early May; otherwise, the deal will be canceled, Electricite du Cambodge (EDC) official once told Fresh News when Cambodia-Turkey reached the deal in mid-March.
According to EDC Director-General Keo Rattanak, the reserved budget for renting the Turkish ship will be used to purchase electric generators for Phnom Penh capital for long-term usages. Cambodia also seeks 55MW electricity supply from Thailand.
Rattanak confirmed yesterday that the 60MW solar farm in Kompong Speu province successfully produced 20MW during the dry season.
“It is supposed to produce more, but due to the rain.”
He added that the next 200MW solar farms will be built in Pursat and Kompong Chhnang province, while the USD 12 million solar farm in Svay Rieng province, built in 2017, already fed 10 megawatts (MW) a day into the national grid.
According to the Premier, the electricity shortages Cambodia faces resulted from the booming of construction sector, an increase of 700% in 2019 compared to last year. Cities in the capital Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, and Sihanoukville used to require only 20MW, now 100MW is not enough for those cities.
“As of today, we lack up to 400MW supply.”
EDC technical official said the hot weather has reduced water level in reservoirs that affected hydroelectric dams.
“The shortage of the electricity in Cambodia is mainly caused by the lack of rain water that needs to supply nine hydropower stations across the country.”
Cambodia’s dry season starts from November through April while rainy season begins from May through October.
According to the government’s circular, Cambodia will face drought during April and May and that temperature will rise to 40-42 degree Celsius due to El Nino.
In the circular, it stressed that the influence of El Niño will also cause less rainfall, thunderstorms and winds, and late rainy season.
=FRESH NEWS
