Cambodia: Thousands of families and environment to be affected by hydropower dam construction on Srekpok 3; forced relocation, lack of assessment and consultation among key issues
"Thousands of Families Face Displacement As Srepok Dam Project Pushes Ahead", 2 June 2025
For thousands of people living along northeast Cambodia’s Srepok River, upheaval feels inevitable…
After decades on paper, Lower Srepok 3 is finally moving forward, according to a community chief in one of the affected villages, who said officials told him construction will begin later this year…
While the project site still remains green, almost 4,270 families facing displacement in Ratanakiri and Mondulkiri from the dam’s nearly 70,000 hectare planned reservoir are being pushed – some say even intimidated – to accept what they call an unjust resettlement deal…
While the designation is not necessarily inaccurate, it blurs the lines of who is ultimately responsible for compensation. Most locals simply pointed to Royal Group as the lead developer, a fact confirmed by provincial authorities.
Further unpacking the ownership structure offers a better picture of the dispersion of the stakeholders. One key entity, identified in a project brief presentation, is China (Cambodia) Rich International Co., which is on the hook for the nearly $83.2 million commitment to the project…
More directly, the environmental impact assessment (EIA) issued earlier this year names Royal Group Power, the conglomerate’s energy arm, as the official project lead.
According to the EIA, there are two Chinese “technical partners”: Huaneng Hydrolancang International Energy Co. and PowerChina Huadong Engineering Co. Together, this team has nudged the long-gestated dam closer to reality…
Meanwhile, as LSP3 nears its first shovel turn, another dam proposal upstream on the Sesan – the so-called Lower Sesan 3 – has also lagged behind but is seemingly in feasibility studies.
If both go ahead, as many as 10,000 families across Mondulkiri and Ratanakiri could be affected, said Leang Bunleap, director of the 3S Rivers Protection Network, which assists communities impacted by water diversion projects along the Mekong’s three major tributaries…
A obtained document that summarizes findings from the LSP3 social impact assessment (SIA) conducted in January 2024 puts the total number of families facing displacement once the dam is complete at 4,266, a figure Bunleap confirmed…
Royal Group and its subsidiary, China (Cambodia) Rich International Co., did not respond to repeated requests for comment. Nor did Chinese state-owned partners Huaneng Hydrolancang and Powerchina Huadong Engineering. It is unclear whether more capital injections or investments from the Chinese technical partners are in the pipeline…
Royal Group assistant director Khinn Remy, whose signature appeared on the sign-in sheet, briefly said, “I’m not involved,” before hanging up…