A simple yet grand soil laying ceremony is taking place on the banks of the Dadai River in Mobang County, Koh Kong Province, Cambodia. When Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wenbin and Cambodian Minister of Mines and Energy Gao Latana jointly shoveled the first shovel of soil into the foundation pit, the applause on site was thunderous. This marks the official start of construction for Cambodia's first gigawatt pumped storage power station, the Shangdadai project. This super power bank, invested by Chinese companies with a total investment of about 1 billion US dollars and expected to be completed and put into operation by 2029, will completely rewrite the history of Cambodia's power supply.

Ten year plan finally implemented

The Shangdadai Pumped Storage Power Station is a core project in the "Third Round of Key Projects List for China Cambodia Capacity and Investment Cooperation", and also the first gigawatt level project of its kind in Cambodia. The total investment of the project is approximately 996 million US dollars, developed using the BOT model, and jointly invested by China Heavy Machinery Co., Ltd., Erzhong (Deyang) Heavy Equipment Co., Ltd., and Southern Power Grid Lanmei International Energy Co., Ltd. From planning to construction, after years of preparation, we finally entered the comprehensive construction phase on April 10, 2026.

China's first technology to go global

The total installed capacity of the power station is 1000 megawatts, and four sets of reversible water pump turbine units with a single capacity of 250 megawatts are installed. Harbin Electric Group has successfully won the bid for all four core units, marking the first time that China's pumped storage equipment has entered the international market. At the same time, Southern Power Grid's subsidiary, Southern Power Grid Energy Storage Company, is deeply involved in project construction consulting and management, promoting the full factor export of China's pumped storage technology and standards. Keywords: New energy news and information, pumped storage energy

Green benefits benefit both parties

Cambodian Minister of Mines and Energy, Gao Latana, pointed out that after the completion of the power station, it will serve as a super power bank for the national power grid, effectively smoothing out fluctuations in new energy supply and enhancing the grid's peak shaving capacity. Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wenbin stated that the project will help Cambodia achieve the national goal of 70% clean energy by 2030. It is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 1.5 million tons per year and create over 2000 job opportunities for the local area during the operation period.Editor/Gao Xue