Kampong Cham: On May 20, 2026, 8,875 additional households in Kampong Cham city and surrounding areas received clean water services following the official inauguration of the Kampong Cham provincial water supply system, a key infrastructure project to promote public health, support economic activity, and improve the livelihoods of the people of Kampong Cham province.
The Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation, together with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the French Agency for Development (AFD), today inaugurated the new water supply system, increasing the coverage rate in the Kampong Cham Water Supply Authority’s service area from approximately 49% in 2018 to approximately 76% in 2025.
The project, which costs approximately $12.98 million, has doubled the supply of clean water to residents in the service area from 44,955 to 89,030 and increased the number of backwater connections from 10,464 to 19,339, including 414 poor families who received free connections.
Mr. Hem Vandy, Minister of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation, said, “Access to safe, clean water is a fundamental foundation for public health, economic productivity and the livelihoods of citizens. As urbanization and industrialization continue to grow, strong water infrastructure is increasingly important for building resilient, competitive, and livable cities for Cambodia.”
Ms. Yasmin Siddiqi, Country Director of the Asian Development Bank for Cambodia, said: Safe and reliable access to clean water is one of the most impactful investments in people’s health and productivity.
Laurent Raspaud, AFD Deputy Country Director for Cambodia, said that this partnership between ADB, AFD, the European Union and the Royal Government of Cambodia demonstrates what multilateral cooperation can achieve when it is driven by a shared ambition to deliver sustainable improvements in the daily lives of citizens.
The Provincial Water Supply and Sanitation Project has an estimated total budget of US$108.73 million at the end of the project, including US$10.45 million in counterpart funding from the Royal Government of Cambodia, US$50 million in ADB credit, EUR40 million in AFD credit, and EUR4.67 million in grant funding from the European Union’s Asian Investment Fund, managed by AFD.
