Chinese-built hydropower plant offers Cambodia greener future

The Chinese-built Lower Sesan 2 Hydropower Station is located in northeastern Cambodia on the Sesan River. The dam's overall length is 6.5 kilometers, making it one of Asia's longest dams and Cambodia's largest hydro project. Completed in late 2018, the total installed capacity makes up roughly 20 percent of Cambodia's total installed capacity. 

The 400-megawatt dam is the seventh and largest built by China in the Southeast Asian country. In order to maintain the biodiversity of fish, China Huaneng Group Corporation invested about 10 million yuan (about $1.37 million) to build a nature-like migratory fish passage with the largest lifting height and the longest length in the field of hydropower engineering in Asia, so as to reduce the impact of the project on aquatic organisms, and protect the environment for the survival and reproduction of migratory fish around the power station. 

In July 2021, the Fisheries Administration of Cambodia issued a certificate to the project in recognition of the company's achievements in fish protection.

Cambodian Environment Ministry Secretary of State and Spokesman Neth Pheaktra said the plant has paid high attention to not only the affected people, but also environmental protection by complying with all requirements in the Environmental Impact Assessment paper.

According to China Huaneng Group Corporation, since its construction, the Lower Sesan 2 Hydropower Station has provided Cambodia with nearly 2 billion kilowatt-hours of clean energy annually, alleviating power supply shortages in Cambodia.

Pheaktra said the project is empowering the Southeast Asian nation's socio-economic development. "This project is essential to ensure Cambodia's energy security and it has been providing tremendous benefit to the whole Cambodia and its people," he said.

"We uphold the concept of building a power station that can drive the economy and protect the environment, and apply the 'Chinese-style poverty alleviation' experience and model to the construction of the Lower Sesan 2 Hydropower Station in accordance with local conditions, so as to realize a win-win situation for operation and construction and improvement of people's livelihood," Deng Jianling, a general manager at China Huaneng Group Corporation, said. 

During the power station's construction and operation, it has provided employment for more than 2,000 people, and cultivated more than 200 technical skills and management talents for the local community, as well as providing scholarships for schools in the immigrant villages surrounding the power station and local colleges and universities.

Wen Shugang, chairman of China Huaneng, said, "China Huaneng adheres to the direction of green and low-carbon, provides safe, clean and intelligent power solutions, and promotes the green development of the countries that are jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative."

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