Cambodia plans wastewater treatment capacity expansion

Buth Reaksmey Kongkea / Khmer Times

Cambodia is committed to enhancing its wastewater treatment capacity to achieve a 50% treatment rate for all waste produced. This goal aligns with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be accomplished by the year 2030.

Prime Minister Hun Manet presided over a plenary meeting of the Council of Ministers on Friday, where he discussed the nation’s wastewater treatment plans.

According to the minutes from the Council of Ministers, the government is expediting the Draft Law on Wastewater Systems. This draft, comprising 16 chapters and 113 articles, addresses the management, development, construction, repair, maintenance, operations, and use of wastewater systems. Its aim is to ensure efficiency, quality, safety, and sustainability while promoting environmental protection.

The overall aim of the wastewater construction programme is to build a better quality life and public welfare for Cambodia, it added.

It added that, while Cambodia currently has some existing wastewater treatment infrastructure, new wastewater systems are now being constructed in cities and provinces. Currently, Cambodia has not set out any legal standards related to the management of wastewater systems yet, the minutes added.

It noted that the Ministry of Public Works and Transport has been preparing the Draft Law on Wastewater Systems since 2013, developing it through research, consultations, examinations, and comparisons with other legal frameworks, political agendas, and national policies.

Drafting the law must also consider treaties, international conventions and existing laws as well as other national and international legal standards.

It noted that the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has been providing technical assistance to further study the draft law since 2000. Additionally, the draft law has undergone 116 consultative meetings at both expert and political levels involving ministries, institutions, and stakeholders.

It added that wastewater treatment systems encompass several key components, including sewers, pumping stations, and wastewater and sewage treatment plants. These elements are crucial to both city infrastructure and the downstream system. They collectively serve to collect wastewater from various sources, including floodwaters, and treat it before discharge into public areas.