The first phase of the $380 million HFO power plant in Kandal province’s Lvea Em district will begin operations in April and produce 100MW of electricity, said the Ministry of Mines and Energy.

Ministry spokesman Victor Jona told The Post on Tuesday that an additional 300MW will be produced during the second quarter or the early third quarter of this year.

With this additional energy, Cambodia will not suffer power shortages like last year, he said.

“The power plant will start operating as planned in April this year, while the full process could start in June or July.

“I think from now on, Cambodia will not suffer electricity shortages, especially in the dry season. Electricity is at the core of development in all areas.

“The situation of electricity supply from now onwards is good because we have 85 per cent of water supply for hydropower while in the same period last year we only had 30 per cent,” he said.

Jona said the demand for electricity is growing at an average of 16-18 per cent annually, except from 2018 to last year, which saw a 25 per cent growth.

Currently, he said, Cambodia can generate about 70-80 per cent of total electricity consumption.

The director-general of Electricité du Cambodge (EdC), Keo Ratanak, said previously that the Kingdom is working to generate more than 1,000MW of new energy by the end of this year.http://https://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/cambodia-powers