Background
On 30 July 2026 a Ministry of Environment inspection team visited XINSHENG SHENG Metal Materials Industrial Parks Co., Ltd in Samaki Mnechay district, Kampong Speu province after a fire occurred at the site’s battery and metal-processing area. The team reported that the facility began a short trial operation in 2026 following an earlier approval notice from the Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation dated 22 December 2025.
The inspected facility had not submitted an environmental impact assessment and lacked permits to collect, store, and process battery and metal waste. The Ministry cited violations of Articles 668, 243, 271 and 272 of the Environmental and Natural Resources Code. Field observations recorded storage of lithium battery residues at the site, and inspectors measured elevated air pollutant concentrations in surrounding residential areas and a nearby poultry farm.
Scope of Application
This decision and inspection apply to industrial operations that collect, store, dismantle or recycle battery and metal residues where hazardous-waste handling and lithium battery processing occur. The ministry’s measures are targeted at facilities operating without an environmental impact assessment or the required permits to manage hazardous battery waste.
Key Provisions or Decisions
Inspection findings and official actions recorded by the Ministry of Environment include: the fire at the facility on 29 July 2026; presence of battery and metal waste in storage areas; heavy smoke and active combustion that prevented immediate site entry on 30 July; detection of high air pollutant levels near homes and agricultural operations; and findings that the site operated without an EIA and without permits to collect, store, or process battery and metal waste. The inspection noted the site lay about 50 metres from residences and about 10 metres from a poultry farm reported to house roughly 20,000 birds, and authorities reported more than 2,000 poultry deaths following the incident.
Immediate protective measures issued by the ministry included requirements for local residents to use protective masks when transit or exposure to smoke is unavoidable, safeguards for drinking water and food to prevent contamination from chemical fallout, and heightened monitoring of vulnerable groups such as children, the elderly, and those with respiratory conditions. The ministry ordered the company to relocate operations, face administrative fines, and provide compensation and remediation for environmental damage.
Implications for Investors, Businesses, or Compliance
Businesses engaging in collection, storage, or processing of battery and metal waste must obtain applicable environmental permits and complete environmental impact assessment procedures before commencing operation; operating without these approvals exposes firms to administrative sanctions including fines, relocation orders, and compensation obligations. Facilities handling lithium-ion battery residues present acute fire and toxic-release risks if technical safety and hazardous-waste management standards are not implemented, which can cause direct public-health impacts and operational disruption.
Official Source
Ministry of Environment Facebook post, 31 July 2026: https://www.facebook.com/MinistryOfEnvironmentCambodia/posts/pfbid0mSx9gqd2GGtisP1d1QCf2XvN51UiYpaUBbRQuaSmXow3nEHtHgXret35kiveghktl
