A Vietnamese- and Indian-backed project to produce sugar, ethanol and electricity, valued at more than $90 million, has begun operating in Kratie province, according to an official and a news report.
Provincial governor Sar Chamrong said that on Sunday, Deputy Prime Minister Yim Chay Ly oversaw the inauguration of the 7,000-hectare complex in Sambor district’s O’Krieng commune.
The project will see sugar cane grown on a large part of the land, and factories producing sugar and ethanol will be powered by an onsite 26-MW thermal power plant, according to Mr. Chamrong.
“It is a good thing for the economy. About 600 Cambodian workers can work in this complex,” he said, adding that the project’s investors were from Vietnam and India.
A report on the website of the state-owned Voice of Vietnam (VOV) said the firm involved was Kamadhenu Ventures Cambodia Limited (KVCL). KVCL has an office in Phnom Penh, but representatives could not be reached yesterday.
“The factory, considered as one of the largest foreign-invested projects in Cambodia, has a total investment of around US$90.7 million, including US$25.3 million from KVCL and US$65.4 million from the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam,” the report states.
VOV claimed that the factories were expected to produce 3,500 tons of sugar and 30,000 liters of ethanol per day.
