CIDCA provides RMB 90 million grant for Phase 2 of Rural Water Supply Project (Linked to Record ID#62182)

Project narrative

On January 24, 2019, the Secretary of State for Cambodia’s Ministry of Economy and Finance, Vongsey Vissoth, and China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) Chairman, Wang Xiaotao, signed letters of exchange regarding Phase 2 of the Rural Water Supply Project. According to the Government of Cambodia’s ODA Database, CIDCA committed RMB 90,020,000 of grant funding for Phase 2. The purpose of the project is to construct 968 deepwater wells and 54 community ponds in 10 provinces (regions), including Kampong Chhnang, Svay Rieng, Prey Veng, Kampot, Kampong Speu, Pursat, Banteay Meanchey, Kampong Cham, Siem Reap, and Battambang. China Jiangxi International Economic and Technical Cooperation Co., Ltd. was the EPC contractor responsible for project implementation. China Urban Construction Research Institute Co., Ltd. was the contractor responsible for project supervision and management. A project implementation agreement was signed by the Chinese Government and the Government of Cambodia on August 8, 2019. Then, on January 7, 2020, construction began. The project was officially completed and inaugurated on December 9, 2021. At the project completion ceremony, Cambodian Minister of Rural Development Ouk Rabun said that the Chinese Government had fulfilled the dream of the Cambodian rural people who had longed for clean water. He said that all people in the project's areas would no longer concern over clean water shortages, even during dry seasons or droughts. Additionally, he said that ‘these wells and community ponds will undoubtedly contribute to improving rural people's living conditions, reducing poverty and boosting rural economic growth as well as narrowing the development gap between urban and rural areas.’ Wu Guoquan, economic and commercial counselor of the Chinese Embassy to Cambodia, noted that since late 2017 the first and second phases of the project had resulted in the construction of more than 1,800 community wells and nearly 130 community ponds in 16 Cambodian provinces. He also said that "I believe that these wells and ponds will improve access to clean water, reduce illness from water-borne diseases, and enhance rural people's livelihoods.