Prime Minister Hun Manet presided over the inauguration of the Svay Rieng city water treatment plant on the morning of March 26, 2026. The approximately US$30.6 million plant was funded by a Japanese grant through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The same ceremony also marked the groundbreaking for water supply infrastructure expansion in five provinces.
The Andong Ta Si plant produces 6,800 cubic metres a day, bringing the utility’s total capacity to 22,600 cubic metres a day. Its distribution network is 110 kilometres long and adds service for 7,378 households, including 375 vulnerable households. The report describes 23 months of construction from February 1, 2024 to December 15, 2025.
The project enables the utility to serve all of Svay Rieng city, raising water coverage within its service area from 32% to 58%.
According to Prime Minister Hun Manet’s remarks at the ceremony, the government planned to invest about US$60 million in expanding water infrastructure across Svay Rieng, Pursat, Kampong Thom, Kampot and Mondulkiri.
The five-province project is to add 13,600 cubic metres of daily capacity, 739 kilometres of pipes and 28,660 household connections. Construction is scheduled from March 2026 to September 2027, an interval of about 18 months.
Japanese Ambassador Ueno Atsushi said Japan would continue helping extend the successful “Phnom Penh Miracle” water-utility model to other regions. He welcomed completion of the Svay Rieng project and progress in utility operations.
Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Hem Vanndy said Cambodia continues to receive technical, grant and concessional support to develop sustainable, quality water infrastructure for residents, factories and other users. He said national water supply rose about 80%, from 309 million cubic metres in 2018 to 556 million in 2025, while piped-water households under the industry ministry’s jurisdiction roughly doubled from 780,000 to more than 1.57 million.
By: Nget Pisann
