China-driven hydropower: lessons from Ghana and Cambodia

This policy brief by the South African Institute of International Affairs compares the implementation of environmental, socioeconomic, and governance (ESG) standards in two Chinese-funded hydropower projects: the Bui Dam in Ghana and the Stung Tatay project in Cambodia. It examines China's domestic regulatory framework for hydropower and analyzes how local government capacity and transparency in the recipient countries influenced the success of ESG mitigation efforts.

• China's domestic hydropower regulation is split between large-scale projects and 'rural' projects (those below 50,000 KW). Large projects require coordination between the National Energy Administration, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Water Resources, and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, while rural projects have a simpler management system where the Ministry of Water Resources provides guidance and local governments manage construction.
• The Stung Tatay hydropower project in Cambodia, a 246 MW dam funded by a $540 million loan from China EXIM Bank, suffered from a severe lack of transparency. The project's Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was not made public, and there were conflicting reports on the extent of flooding, with the EIA claiming 2,949 hectares of permanent flooding while the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) estimated 4,600 hectares.
• The Stung Tatay project caused significant environmental damage to the Cardamom Forest, affecting endangered species such as Siamese crocodiles, sun bears, and elephants. Additionally, the project's supporting infrastructure involved building 230 kV transmission lines that required cutting through mountains to connect the dam to the national grid.
• In Cambodia, the socioeconomic impacts of the Stung Tatay project remained opaque due to government secrecy. While the EIA predicted declines in water and fish quality and proposed support programs for agriculture and healthcare, there is no evidence these programs were ever launched or implemented.
• The Bui Dam project in Ghana resulted in the inundation of approximately 21% of the forest area in Bui National Park, threatening the black hippopotamus and colobus monkeys. Environmental mitigation failed largely because the Ghanaian government's Wildlife Division lacked the resources and capacity to track or relocate the hippo population.
• The resettlement process for the Bui Dam displaced 1,216 residents from 219 households. Although the Ghanaian government used World Bank and IFC standards and provided more transparency than Cambodia, the process was marred by failures: promised compensation fees did not materialize, and the planned 'Bui City' development never happened, leaving residents in the temporary Jama Resettlement Township.
• A primary conclusion of the comparison is that ESG standard setting in these projects depended heavily on the recipient authorities rather than the Chinese contractors. Consequently, institutional weaknesses in the host governments—such as lack of capacity in Ghana or lack of transparency in Cambodia—were replicated in the mitigation processes, increasing the reputational risk for Chinese firms.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2021). China-driven hydropower: lessons from Ghana and Cambodia. https://saiia.org.za/research/china-driven-hydropower-lessons-from-ghana-and-cambodia/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. China-driven hydropower: lessons from Ghana and Cambodia. 2021. https://saiia.org.za/research/china-driven-hydropower-lessons-from-ghana-and-cambodia/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=China-driven hydropower: lessons from Ghana and Cambodia |date=7 December 2021 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/china-driven-hydropower-lessons-from-ghana-and-cambodia/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2021chinadriven, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{China-driven hydropower: lessons from Ghana and Cambodia}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2021}, month = dec, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/china-driven-hydropower-lessons-from-ghana-and-cambodia/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }