PHNOM PENH: The Director General of the Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority, Long Naro, has said that the construction of the first phase of Bak Kheng water treatment plant has reached 66% completion and is scheduled to finish in 2023, while the second phase of the plant’s construction has also reached 42% completion.

Speaking during the inspection of the Bak Kheng Water Treatment Plant construction site on Wednesday, 20 July, Long Naro said that after the plant has been fully constructed, it will have the capacity to treat 390,000 cubic meters of water per day. Phase 1 of the completed water treatment plant will allow for 195,000 cubic meters of water to be processed, while Phase 2 will increase water processing by an additional 195,000 cubic meters per day.

He stated that the first phase of the construction project, scheduled to be completed in 2023, will meet the needs and consumption levels of the people in Phnom Penh as a whole. He expects that by the end of 2023 or the beginning of 2024, Phnom Penh will no longer face water shortages.

Cedric Roude, the managing director of the French contractor VINCI, responsible for building the Bak Kheng Water Treatment Plant, said that his company has been working in Cambodia since 2013, and described the process as well as the quality of water production in Cambodia, which is in line with world standards.

The Bak Kheng Water Treatment Plant began construction in January 2020. The Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority (PPWSA) is optimistic that from 2023 onwards, it will have the capacity to produce a total of 1,000,000 cubic meters of clean water per day to fulfill the lack of clean water in Phnom Penh and Takhmao.