Cambodia's 400-MW Lower Sesan 2 hydropower project has been given the go-ahead from the country's government, HydroWorld.com has learned.

Cambodia's 400-MW Lower Sesan 2 hydropower project has been given the go-ahead from the country's government, HydroWorld.com has learned.


The US$781 million project will be built along the Sesan River in northeastern province Stung Treng, according to a government statement.

Cambodian officials say Lower Sesan 2 will be built by a Chinese/Vietnamese joint venture but did not name the companies involved in the deal.

HydroWorld.com reported in August that work on Laos' 1,260-MW Xayaburi project sparked the creation of the Mekong River Commission, which alongside environmental group 3S Rivers Protection Network says as many as 50,000 people could be displaced by the Lower Sesan 2's reservoir.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has ordered the development group to build new homes and prepare land for an unspecified number of resettled residents, however, and the government says the approval comes after an eight-year review process.