Chinese companies based in Shanghai have revealed ambitious plans to establish the first-ever mega industrial plant producing clean water in Cambodia, aiming to help the government reach its goal of enabling access to safe drinking water for all residents by 2025.
Shanghai Mechanical Power Engineering and Shanghai Micro Purification Technology are both looking to ink deals with the government to build the industrial plant in Kep province, according to the Ministry of Industry and Handicrafts.
During a meeting at the ministry on Friday, the estimated cost of the project was not revealed, but the operations would be run using the budget under the development frameworks of China’s “One Belt One Road” initiative. “I can find the needed 10 hectares of land for the project in Kep province, which is a well-suited coastal location,” said Cham Prasidh, Minister of Industry and Handicrafts, adding that Cambodia is ready to cooperate with the Chinese companies.
Tep Vuthy, vice-governor of Kep, applauded the project, touting it as a way to deliver clean water to rural areas. “The Kep municipality has not received any information about the project from the national level, but it is a good project to help local people access clean water,” he said. “Currently, people use reserved rain water and private water suppliers.”
Vuthy added that there is much more work to be done before groundbreaking can begin for the project. “At the subnational level, we don’t know about the amount of investment for these projects yet,” he said. “But the demand for clean water has risen in Kep due to an increase in the number of tourists visiting the area. If the project gets off the ground, it will help the tourism sector – hotels, restaurants, and other businesses.”
