Chinese companies here on Saturday launched two power projects in Cambodia, the Stung Atay hydropower plant and a set of electricity transmission network.

Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An and Governor of China's Yunnan Province Qin Guangrong, who is leading a delegation to visit Cambodia, unveiled the foundation stones of the two projects during a ceremony hold in Phnom Penh.

The hydropower plant costs 190 million U.S. dollars and can generate 465 million kilowatt-hour of electricity per year, according to a press release from the Chinese companies.

The power transmission network is constructed at the cost of 113 million U.S. dollars to connect Phnom Penh, Kampong Chhnang, Pursat and Battambang, it added.

China Yunnan Corporation for International Techno-Economic Cooperation and Yunnan Southeast-Asia Economy and Technology Investment Industrial Co., LTD. undertake the construction and development of both projects, the press release said, adding that the Cambodian government adopts BOT pattern (build, operate and transfer) for the projects.

Currently, Cambodia does not have the infrastructure to generate enough electricity to fuel the galloping demand, which has been rising 15 to 20 percent per year, according to Cambodian Ministry of Mines and Energy.

Source: Xinhua