Cambodian Tycoon Companies Starting Approval Process for Dam Projects, Documents Say

PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA — Companies chaired by a prominent Cambodian tycoon are quietly starting the approval process for two dormant hydropower dam projects in Cambodia’s Ratanakiri province, according to documents reviewed by VOA, alarming environmentalists who say the projects could disrupt Indigenous people’s livelihoods and the Mekong River ecosystem.

Lower Srepok 3 and Lower Sesan 3 are named for the major Mekong tributaries where they would be built and have been part of Cambodia's dam pipeline since 2003, when the government began planning hydropower investments. Several Chinese companies pursued approvals for the dams around a decade ago, but the projects did not move forward.

Now, assessment work at Lower Srepok 3 is underway again, with plans to follow suit at Lower Sesan 3, this time under the direction of two companies chaired by tycoon Kith Meng. A letter sent to Ratanakiri districts, photos of a feasibility study, and company records indicate that Meng's companies China (Cambodia) Rich International Co. and Royal Group are working to complete feasibility studies at the Lower Srepok 3 and Lower Sesan 3 dams. Such studies would pave the way to receive approvals to build the dams.

About 10,000 families in total could be affected by the two projects, said Leang Bunleap, director of Ratanakiri’s 3S Rivers Protection Network, which works with those affected by dams along three Mekong tributaries.

"They’re very careful not to share whether they’re planning dams or not. They’re not open," Bunleap told VOA, speaking of the government and investors. "Too many people in the community don’t know about this."

In November 2022, three Ratanakiri districts – Veun Sai, Ta Veaeng, and Andoung – received a letter from provincial authorities seeking cooperation with a feasibility study for Lower Sesan 3.

The letter, reviewed by VOA, said Phnom Penh-based China (Cambodia) Rich International Co. had signed a memorandum of understanding in 2020 with the Ministry of Mines and Energy to study the dam site. Cambodian Commerce Ministry records list the company’s directors, in addition to Kith Meng, as Thomas Pianka and Mark Hanna, who also hold executive positions at Meng’s Royal Group. The executives did not respond to a request for comment.

Photos of the Lower Srepok 3 feasibility study in Lumphat district, reviewed by VOA, meanwhile refer to the "300-MW [300-megawatt] Srepok 3A dam project of Royal Group." The project is usually referred to as "Lower Srepok 3," but sometimes "3A."

In response to a question about China (Cambodia)'s activities at Lower Sesan 3, Ratanakiri Governor Nhem Samoeun responded with answers about Lower Srepok 3, telling VOA via text that "the company" had finished the feasibility study for Lower Srepok 3, met with provincial authorities and now plans to complete the next step of an environmental impact assessment. The Lower Sesan 3 project will be studied next, Samoeun said. He did not pick up follow-up calls.

Efforts to revive the projects arrive as the Cambodian government distances itself from other hydropower plans. In late November, Prime Minister Hun Manet said that his government would "not build any dams along the Mekong" because of the harsh environmental impacts, echoing a 10-year moratorium that was announced in 2020.

The promise garnered praise from local and international experts who said it would help protect the river and the Tonle Sap Lake, one of the world’s most productive inland fisheries.

Two hydropower projects that were planned for the Mekong mainstream, Sambor and Stung Treng, would have "seriously impacted" the river’s fisheries, hydrology and ecosystems, said Ian Baird, a University of Wisconsin professor who studies hydropower dam development in the Mekong Basin.

"Either one of those dams would have been very significant, so that’s why [the announcement] is so great to hear," Baird said. "It’s not just about Cambodia, it’s about the whole region, and I think Cambodia should be commended for that."

The moratorium does not apply to tributary dams such as the two Ratanakiri projects, however.

Fay Sot, a 68-year-old Cambodian-Lao woman and representative for Indigenous and ethnic groups in Veun Sai district, said she heard last year that Lower Sesan 3 would go ahead. Like her neighbors, she lives about 10 meters from the river and relies on it for daily fishing and farming.

More than a decade ago when the dams were first explored for development, locals in her district petitioned the government against it.

"When the dam is built, the amount of water in the river will be reduced, and it will be difficult for us to do farming, fishing, or even to drink it," Sot said.

"We don't want to be removed from here. If we move, we’ll have to start from scratch," she added.

Local leaders say they have not received details about the projects. Veun Sai District Governor Heng Savoeun said no company representatives had contacted the district to discuss the feasibility study; Lumphat officials either refused to comment or said they did not know which companies were involved.

China’s Sinohydro Group was previously expected to develop Lower Sesan 3; a Korean company, KTC Cable Co., studied the project too, while China's Huadian Hong Kong Co. Ltd. was attached to Lower Srepok 3, according to local news reports. A spokesperson for the Mines and Energy Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

Aside from its vast telecom, banking and property holdings, Royal Group is known for co-developing Cambodia's Lower Sesan 2 dam in Stung Treng province, which Human Rights Watch deemed a "disaster" after its 2018 completion. About 5,000 people, many members of Indigenous minority groups, were evicted or lost their livelihoods, while the project devastated fishing yields and ecosystems.

The company was also slated to develop the Stung Treng mainstream dam before Manet’s speech.

Mak Bunthoeurn, a program manager at Cambodian group NGO Forum that works for community rights in hydropower planning, said he believes regrets over the Lower Sesan 2’s impacts influenced the government’s recent decision to stop mainstream dam development.

"They tried to keep it silent and echo the positive sides," Bunthoeurn said. "But I think the government learned from this development, and used it as a baseline or evidence, to decide whether the mainstream hydropower dams should go ahead or not."

The number of potential hydropower projects in Cambodia’s pipeline is not certain. Stimson Center’s Mekong Dam Monitor project has tracked 60 planned projects dating back to the 2000s. Research from NGO Forum, along with a 2040 Power Development Plan released earlier this year, indicate roughly 17 projects.