"If it weren't for the Sanhe II Hydropower Station, maybe we are still living a life of kerosene lamps and battery lighting. The hydropower station has benefited thousands of families and lighted up our new lives." Said Suifo, a 51-year-old Cambodian farmer.

The Sang River II Hydropower Station is located on the main stream of the Sang River in the Xishan District of Stung Treng Province, northeastern Cambodia. The total installed capacity is 400,000 kilowatts, accounting for nearly 20% of Cambodia's total installed power generation capacity, which can greatly alleviate the local power supply shortage. , And greatly reduce local electricity costs. The hydropower station is developed by Yunnan Lancangjiang International Energy Co., Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Huaneng Lancangjiang Hydropower Company.

New life for Cambodian residents

Due to the construction of the hydropower station, the nearby Sregoteli Village has become a new home for the villagers. There are new highways connected to the outside world, uniform tall buildings, household power grids, and so on. Suifou said that electrical appliances such as air conditioners, refrigerators, and TVs that were once unusable have now entered the lives of villagers.

In 2016, Fu Wenheng left the old wooden houses and rice fields in the old village, and the family moved to Sregoteli Village. They were greeted by a 1,000-square-meter homestead and a newly built 80-square-meter tall house. The government also provided him with 5 hectares of land and cash compensation. "Now I can earn US$3,000 from cashews harvested every year. With this income, my family's conditions are much better. Before moving to the new village, I could barely make ends meet by growing rice and fishing." said 63-year-old Fu Wenheng.

Chinese Cambodian Cai Kaiming has been responsible for the communication between the project company and the immigrants. He said: "China's experience in poverty alleviation is very good, and it has brought great inspiration to the poverty alleviation work in our immigrant villages. We have been studying and learning."

Fuwen Zhewen, the mayor of Siregoteli Township, where the immigrant village is located, said that the new village has more than 900 households with nearly 3,000 people, with complete infrastructure and public facilities. Relying on the convenient transportation and the favorable irrigation conditions created by the power station reservoir area, the local people planted cash crops such as cashew nuts, bananas, and mangoes to increase their income. “Previously, most villagers only had bicycles, even if they had motorcycles, they were very old. Now most families in the village bought two or three new motorcycles, and some families bought cars.”

As an employee who has worked in the Sanghe project for 8 years, Cai Kaiming witnessed that people on this land have got rid of the life of relying on mountains, mountains, water, no electricity, no roads, and isolation from the outside world because of the construction of the hydropower station.

"Hydropower stations are very important to us. Previously, we could only buy electricity from other countries. Many rural areas did not have access to electricity or could not afford electricity. The Sanghe Hydropower Station allowed us to use Cambodia’s own electricity. I am very happy to be able to work here. This gave me a good opportunity to help my hometown develop." Cai Kaiming said. Editor/Tian Zengpeng