Cheay Areng Dam was a proposed 108 MW

hydroelectric dam Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

on Areng river in

Koh Kong Province Koh Kong (, , ) is a province (''khaet'') of Cambodia. Its capital is Khemarak Phoumin (Koh Kong). Geography The most southwestern province of Cambodia, Koh Kong has a long undeveloped coastline and a mountainous, forested, and largely inac ...

in the southwest part of

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

(coordinate: ).

China Guodian Corporation China Guodian Corporation (Guodian; ) is one of the five largest power producers in China, administrated by SASAC for the State Council. It is engaged in development, investment, construction, operation and management of power plants and power g ...

once intended to build the dam. Sinohydro Resources Ltd, a holding company for

Sinohydro Sinohydro (; full name: 中国水利水电建设集团公司) is a Chinese state-owned enterprise engaged in hydropower and civil engineering construction. It is a major subsidiary of the Power Construction Corporation of China (PowerChina) and ...

Group, was granted approval in February 2014 for six months of extensive drilling, geological mapping and prospecting in the dam concession. The project was shelved in 2017 by Prime Minister

Hun Sen Samdech Hun Sen (; , Romanization of Khmer#UNGEGN, UNGEGN: ; born 5 August 1952) is a Cambodian politician and former military officer who currently serves as the List of presidents of the Senate (Cambodia), president of the Senate. He previous ...

due to a strong local opposition to the dam. A new coal plant will be constructed in Preah Sihanouk as a compensation.

Environmental and social concerns

Cheay Areng Dam was to be built in the Central Cardamom Protected Forest (CCPF), largest unbroken tract of woodland in Southeast Asia, covering 4,013 km². This area, made up of a series of adjoining national parks, hosts a high

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

including 31 endangered animal species, among which the world’s second-largest population of wild

Siamese crocodile The Siamese crocodile (''Crocodylus siamensis'') is a medium-sized freshwater crocodile native to Indonesia (Borneo and possibly Java), Brunei, East Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. The species is critically endangered and ...

. Furthermore, the dam would flow a 20 km² area from which 1500 Chong people indigenous people would have to be relocated.

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

monks and villagers are against the project. , local residents continue to oppose construction of the dam, which would provide power principally to neighboring countries.

References

{{stack, {{Portal, Cambodia, Water, Renewable energy
Hydroelectric power stations in Cambodia Dams in Cambodia Koh Kong province Cancelled hydroelectric power stations Dam controversies