Cambodia Chooses MAN for Major Power plant

MAN Energy Solutions and China National Heavy Machinery Corp. (CHMC) will build a 200 MW power station in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh.

CHMC will take responsibility for the engineering, procurement and construction, MAN will deliver and commission the new plant’s 11 18V51/60DF engines. The engines have a bore and stroke of 510 X 600 mm and are designed switch from gas to liquid fuel operation (and vice versa) at full load without any output and speed fluctuations.

Owned and operated by Cambodia’s national utility, Electricité du Cambodge, the plant will significantly boost the country’s generation capacity and feed enough electricity into the national grid to cover the average energy consumption of approximately 70 000 Cambodian households.

“This plant will contribute substantially to ensuring the reliable supply of electrical energy in Cambodia regardless of weather or climate conditions,” said Wayne Jones, chief sales officer at MAN Energy Solutions. “Reliability and flexibility is what our engines are known for and we are proud to be a part of this endeavor.”

Martin Höhler, regional head of Sales for MAN Energy Solutions Power Plant business in the Asia Pacific region, said Cambodia relies to a large part on hydroelectric energy generation and the national grid faced stability issues during the last dry season when not all of these plants could operate at full capacity.

“The government therefore launched a fast-track program to add flexible generation capacity to the system,” Höhler said. “We are very happy to play such a major role in this significant project to bring about reliable power in short time.”

Meeting the customer’s ambitious construction schedule calls for a high degree of process efficiency and professionalism among the project partners, said Wilson Phua, regional sales manager Power Plant for the Asia-Pacific region.

“The schedule is very demanding: the plant has to be up and running by early-2020,” Phua said. “Accordingly, construction will commence almost immediately and we are committed to deliver the engines before the end of this year.”

While operating on heavy fuel oil at first, the power station will be able to run on as natural gas as well, thanks to the dual-fuel capability of the MAN 51/60 engines. Natural gas is low in GHG emissions and enhances the plants carbon footprint, the company said.