China's BRI-backed hydropower station in Cambodia provides clean energy, transforms lives of local villagers

STUNG TRENG, Cambodia -- Cambodian relocated villager Laing Nuth has expressed her satisfaction with the development of the Lower Sesan II hydropower station here, saying that the project has not only generated clean and reliable energy, but also significantly changed the lives of local residents.

Situated in northern Stung Treng province's Sesan district, the 400-megawatt Lower Sesan II hydropower station, which was put into operation in 2018, is a joint venture among China's Huaneng Hydrolancang International Energy, Cambodia's Royal Group, and Vietnamese EVN International Joint Stock Company.

It is one of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) flagship projects carried out in the Southeast Asian country.

Nuth, who has been relocated to the new Srekor 1 village in 2017 to pave the way for the development of the hydropower dam, said the project has transformed her life and other resettled villagers' lives.

She said the hydropower company had constructed a decent house for each resettled family, given each of them a five-hectare piece of farmland, and some compensation for the damage to their farm crops in their old villages.

Nuth currently plants cashew and casava crops on her farmland and earns a proper revenue to support her family.

"When we lived in the old village, there was little development, but when we moved here, there are a lot of changes," she told Xinhua in a recent interview.

She added that in the old village, the villagers used battery-powered lamps or kerosene-burning lamps.

"Here, there are roads, stable electricity...and I would say that our livelihoods here are better than that in the old village," the 43-year-old mother of two children said.

"In each harvest season, I could earn about 15 million riels (3,750 U.S. dollars)," she said.

Meanwhile, Nuth said the company has protected environment well, taking care of both the environment at the hydropower dam and in local villages.

She observed that the hydropower company has also built a 2,900-meter-long fishway to serve as the path for fish migration.

Sum Baiyorn, another relocated villager to the new Srekor 1 village, said the dam project has not only secured energy security, but also provided a lot of benefits to local residents.

"At the old Srekor village, the roads were difficult to access, and there was no electricity, while at this new village, there are police stations, health centers, schools, electricity and clean water, among others," she told Xinhua.

"I'm very happy with what I've received from the royal government and the hydropower company," she added.

Baiyorn said that at the new village, because of competitive electricity costs, some villagers have experienced something new, such as using air-cons and refrigerators, which they had never imagined at the old village due to no electricity.

"If there was no this hydropower station, we must be still living in difficulty, using kerosene-burning lamps or battery-powered lamps," the 35-year-old mother of four children said.

Sim Chorn, deputy chief of Srekor 1 village, said the village has a total of 522 families with 1,872 villagers.

"They, about 60 percent, make their livings by growing rice and other crops, particularly cashew and cassava," he told Xinhua. "At this new Srekor village, more than 80 percent of the villagers have enjoyed their better livelihoods."

Chorn recounted that at the old village, almost 100 percent of the households used kerosene-burning lamps.

"If we were still in the old Srekor village, we would not have access to such a stable electricity," he added.

Pan Qi, a Chinese staff member at the Lower Sesan II hydropower station, said the company has adhered to the principle of building a power station to drive local economic development, protect the environment, benefit the local people, and share the fruits of harmonious development.

"Here, we've built a basic resettlement village. Within this village, we've constructed public facilities such as hospitals and schools, providing convenient transportation and power supply facilities to serve the entire resettlement village, making life better," he told Xinhua.