Battambang's New Water System: A Multilateral Milestone for Cambodia's Secondary Cities

The inauguration of a new drinking water system in Battambang Province marks the culmination of an unprecedented partnership between the Asian Development Bank, the French Development Agency, and the European Union—a model of multilateral cooperation serving secondary cities in Southeast Asia.

• 94% Household Coverage

• 219,810 Households Served

• $119M Total Investment

• 8.45% Network Loss Rate

A Ceremony Befitting a Historic Project

On April 30, 2026, in Sangkat Wat Kor of Battambang city, H.E. Hem Vanndy, the Cambodian Minister of Industry, Science, Technology, and Innovation, presided over the official inauguration of a potable water supply system whose construction mobilized nearly a decade of joint efforts. By his side: provincial governor Sok Lou, Yasmin Siddiqi, Country Director of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for Cambodia, and Sandrine Boucher, Country Director of the French Development Agency (AFD).

This project is part of the Provincial Water Supply and Sanitation Project (PWSSP), approved in December 2017 by the ADB's Board of Directors, with joint financing formalized in January 2018. It represents one of the largest multilateral interventions in Cambodia's water sector outside Phnom Penh to date.

Multilateral Financing Structured on Three Pillars

The total project cost amounts to $119.17 million, mobilized through a tripartite financial architecture:

• ADB — $50M loan

• AFD — $43.54M loan (€40M)

• EU (Asia Investment Facility) — €4.67M

• grantCambodian Government — $10.54M

The AFD loan, with a 20-year term including seven years of grace and an indicative rate of 1.33% per year, illustrates the concessional terms that Western donors offer to emerging economies for high social impact projects.

The EU grant, administered by the AFD via the Asia Investment Facility mechanism, notably financed energy efficiency measures and free connections for the most vulnerable households.

“A reliable water supply improves public health, frees up time for households, and supports local economic growth.”Yasmin Siddiqi, Country Director of the ADB for Cambodia

Infrastructure Sized for the Future

The works, carried out between October 2022 and December 2025 by the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), delivered a coherent set of facilities:

• Pumping Station55,000 m³/day raw capacity

• Treatment Plant50,000 m³/day potable production

• Primary Network94 km of main pipelines

• Total Network926 km of pipes

• Total Provincial Capacity83,520 m³/day (vs 33,520 before project)

The doubling of production capacity — from 33,520 to 83,520 cubic meters per day — is particularly significant in a context of accelerated urbanization. Battambang, Cambodia's second city with an estimated population of 257,600 as of 2015 per ADB data, is experiencing demographic growth that made the infrastructure status quo untenable. The network loss rate of just 8.45% now places the provincial utility in the category of high-performing operators at the regional level.

A National Context in Transformation

Battambang's success is not an isolated case: it fits into a broader movement of infrastructure catch-up that the Cambodian government seeks to accelerate. In 2012, Cambodia met the Millennium Development Goals for water, with 94% of the urban population having access to an improved water source — but these figures masked deep disparities between Phnom Penh and provincial cities, where connection rates to networks remained far below the capital's.

In December 2025, the ADB approved a $763 million investment program to strengthen water security and resilience in Cambodian cities, including about €135 million additional from the AFD in co-financing. The Battambang project thus constitutes a milestone — not an endpoint — in this long-term trajectory.

“This achievement goes beyond infrastructure. It is an investment in people, public health, and the city's future.”Sandrine Boucher, Country Director of the AFD in Cambodia

A Replicable Model of Cooperation

Beyond the figures, this project illustrates the effectiveness of well-structured multilateral cooperation: the ADB provides technical expertise and supervisory capacity, the AFD its concessional financing and know-how in managing complex projects, and the EU its targeted grants for social and environmental components. The Cambodian government, by providing its counterpart and assuming institutional ownership, demonstrates an absorption and steering capacity recognized by the donors.

Minister Hem Vanndy explicitly expressed his willingness to continue this cooperation on future infrastructure projects, suggesting that the Battambang model could be replicated in other secondary cities in the country — Kampong Cham, Siem Reap, or Sihanoukville — where similar investments are underway or in preparation under the PWSSP.

For millions of Cambodian families, running water from the tap is no longer a promise: since April 30, 2026, it is a reality.