Cambodia contract for Vinci

Vinci Construction has signed a contract with the Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority to design and build the Bakheng water treatment plant in the northern outskirts of the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh.

The first phase of the project, with a value of US$155 million, covers construction of a first treatment line with a capacity of 195,000m³ per day and the intake in the Mekong River with a capacity of 390,000m³ per day.

Additionally, the first phase also includes the construction of two 1.4m diameter pipelines with a length of 1.5km to carry water from the Mekong to the treatment plant. It also includes the building of a 2m diameter pipeline with a length of 7.8 km (including a 630m river crossing to be built using a microtunneling machine) to bring drinking water to more than 500,000 inhabitants of the capital city.

To minimise the plant’s carbon footprint its electricity requirements will be partly supplied by solar panels.

The project is co-financed by the French Development Agency, the European Investment Bank and the Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority. Reports suggest that it will employ more than 500 local workers and supervisory personnel at the height of construction activity.

The contract also provides for a second conditional works phase with a value of US$45 million. This phase is designed to double the plant’s treatment capacity to 390,000m³ per day. Following handover of the second phase, the project will provide drinking water for a population of approximately one million people.