World Bank grants Cambodia 18.5 million for electricity

Jun 7, 2007, 10:55 GMT

Phnom Penh - Cambodians on Thursday welcomed an announcement by the World Bank that it would donate nearly 20 million dollars towards construction of cross-border transmission lines to increase power supply to the developing country.

The capital of Phnom Penh currently uses 95 per cent of the country's total supply, according to official statistics, but residents still suffer rolling brownouts, especially in the hottest months of April and May.

And in a country where people earn an average of around 380 dollars a year, provincial populations currently pay some of the highest tariffs in the world, according to a World Bank statement, meaning that only around 18 per cent of the population is currently connected to electricity grids.

'People living in Cambodia's poorest provinces ... will see their power bills drop dramatically as a result of grants approved today by the International Development Association (IDA),' the statement said.

It said that under the World Bank's Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) Power Trade Program, the 18.5 million dollar grant will be used to construct transmission lines to neighboring Laos and Vietnam.

'Along with transmission links under construction with Vietnam through the IDA-funded Rural Electrification Project, the new funding will further expand power trade with Vietnam, enabling Cambodia to import electricity and bring down the cost for poor consumers,' the statement said.

It added that another 15 million dollar grant to Laos will support the construction of lines to export power to Cambodia and build a transmission system that links Laos, Cambodia and Thailand.

The GMS Power Project in Cambodia is expected to be completed by August 2011 and the Lao Project by 2013.