Vinci Construction Grands Projets has secured a contract from the Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority to extend the drinking water production plant supplying Bakheng, located in the north of Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh.

This €94 million design-build contract covers construction of a new raw water intake from the Mekong river and a new line with capacity to treat 195,000 cu m of water a day.

The construction site will employ 1,600 people at its peak. A large majority of the workers and supervisors will be Cambodian, with women expected to account for 30% of the workforce, and Vinci Construction Grands Projets will train them in building trades.

From an environmental perspective, Vinci Construction Grands Projets will use concrete that emits 30% less carbon than standard local equivalents; set up a 3,500-panel (9,000 sq m photovoltaic array) to cover 15% of the facility’s energy requirements; deploy Smart Users, an innovative solution developed by its subsidiary WMI to measure and manage water consumption at the worksite and facilities (including offices and concrete plant).

The extension, which is part of the government’s programme to bring drinking water to the country’s entire population by 2030, will supply 750,000 people living to the north of the capital by 2028. The project will benefit from Vinci Construction Grands Projets’ expertise in hydraulic infrastructure and its experience expanding access to water in Cambodia. It follows on from the first two works phases at the same plant – which currently provides water for some two million people – that were handed over in June 2023 and March 2024.