Background
In Cambodia’s municipal waste sector, authorities are assessing waste-to-energy technologies as part of broader efforts to reduce landfill volumes and recover energy from solid waste streams. A proposed waste-to-energy facility in Siem Reap is designed to process 22 to 35 tonnes of municipal waste per day.
On 19 May 2026, Ministry of Environment officials met with European Union partners to review a feasibility study for a separation and processing plant that uses European technology. Project documents estimate electricity generation of 35 to 75 megawatt-hours per day from processed waste and annual greenhouse gas emissions reductions of about 25,000 tonnes.
Key Developments
Ministry officials and EU representatives discussed a planned investment in Siem Reap with an estimated capital cost of approximately US$22.3 million to build waste separation and processing facilities. The project proposal includes European-supplied processing technology and aims to process mixed waste streams, including plastics, into recoverable energy and other outputs.
Officials considered the potential use of revenues from carbon credit sales to support the investment and requested that project documentation be shared with relevant Cambodian agencies for further review.
Institutional Role
The Ministry of Environment indicated that the feasibility study and subsequent investment plan should be discussed with national and sector agencies, including the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC), the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME), the Electricité du Cambodge (EDC), and the ministry’s Environmental Impact Assessment unit (EIA). Provincial administrators in Siem Reap were also named as stakeholders for site-level planning and implementation.
The ministry designated an internal focal point to coordinate the project and instructed coordination between the focal office and the Department of Solid Waste Management for technical oversight and operational alignment.
Market Impact
Project proponents and ministry staff discussed carbon finance as a potential revenue stream to offset capital costs and support long-term operation. The combination of daily processing capacity and estimated electricity output forms the primary metric used by investors and planners to assess the project’s viability against local waste volumes.
Source
Ministry of Environment public statement and meeting briefing with European Union partners, 19 May 2026 (source: Ministry of Environment Facebook post).
