Kampong Cham Water Supply System Inaugurated, Expands Clean Water Access to Additional 8,875 Families./Image credit: MISTI.

An additional 8,875 families in Kampong Cham City and surrounding areas now have access to safe and reliable piped water following the inauguration of the Kampong Cham Water Supply System, a key infrastructure project that is strengthening the province’s public health, supporting economic activities, and improving living conditions.

The Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology & Innovation (MISTI), together with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Agence Française de Développement (AFD), inaugurated the expanded water supply system on May 20, 2026, which increased service coverage in the area from approximately 49 per cent in 2018 to around 76 per cent in 2025. 

The USD 12.98 million project has more than doubled access to the Kampong Cham Water Utility network, increasing the number of people served from 44,955 to 89,030 and expanding household connections from 10,464 to 19,339, including 414 poor families that received subsidised water connections fees.

Implemented under the Provincial Water Supply and Sanitation Project, the system includes a raw water intake and pumping station, a new water treatment plant, and expanded transmission and distribution pipeline networks. The project contributes an additional 11,600 cubic metres of treated water per day, increasing the total production capacity of the Kampong Cham Water Utility to approximately 28,100 cubic metres per day.

H.E. Hem Vanndy, Minister of Industry, Science, Technology & Innovation, said:

Access to clean and safe water is fundamental to public health, economic productivity, and quality of life. As Cambodia continues to urbanise and industrialise, reliable water supply infrastructure will remain essential to building resilient, competitive, and livable cities under the Government’s Pentagonal Strategy.

Image credit: MISTI.

Image credit: MISTI.

The Kampong Cham system follows the inauguration of the Battambang Water Supply System last month and forms part of Cambodia’s broader efforts to modernize water infrastructure in key provincial growth centers.

“Reliable access to safe water is one of the most impactful investments we can make in people’s health and productivity,” said Yasmin Siddiqi, ADB Country Director for Cambodia. “The inauguration of the Kampong Cham system marks a further expansion of services, extending the benefits of safe, reliable water to more communities. Together, these investments demonstrate how strong partnerships are scaling up access across Cambodia and supporting more inclusive and resilient urban growth.”

The Kampong Cham Water Supply System is part of the Provincial Water Supply and Sanitation Project, approved in 2017 and jointly financed by the Government of Cambodia, ADB, AFD, and the European Union. 

“This partnership between the ADB, AFD, the European Union and the Royal Government of Cambodia demonstrates what multilateral cooperation can achieve when it is driven by a shared ambition: delivering lasting improvements in people’s daily lives,” said Laurent Raspaud, Deputy Country Director of AFD in Cambodia. “After more than twenty years of supporting access to clean water in Phnom Penh, AFD is proud to extend this long-standing commitment to Kampong Cham.”

The total cost of the Provincial Water Supply and Sanitation Project at completion is approximately USD 108.73 million, including USD 10.45 million from the Government of Cambodia, a USD 50 million loan from ADB, a EUR 40 million (~USD 46.4 million) loan from AFD, and a EUR 4.67 million (~USD 5.4 million) grant from the European Union’s Asia Investment Facility administered by AFD.

This press release was supplied.

Image credit: MISTI.

Image credit: MISTI.