Energy Transition Sector Development Program (Subprogram 2) (ADB-54430-002)

Regions
  • East Asia and Pacific
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Countries
  • Cambodia
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Financial Institutions
  • Asian Development Bank (ADB)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Approved
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
B
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Oct 6, 2025
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
Government of Cambodia
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Energy
  • Finance
  • Law and Government
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Advisory Services, Grant, Loan
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 83.30 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Loan Amount (USD)
$ 80.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Grant Amount (USD)
$ 3.30 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Bank Documents
Media Documents
Other Related Projects
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ ADB website

Updated in EWS Jan 16, 2026

Disclosed by Bank Oct 6, 2025

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

As stated by the ADB, the following solutions are proposed under a sector development modality:

(i) a policy-based loan to deepen the policy framework and support the government in adopting sectoral reforms to accelerate the energy transition; and
(ii) a financial intermediation loan (FIL) to support private sector investments in energy efficiency.

The FIL component will address a key constraint to the adoption of energy efficiency in Cambodia: access to finance, under favorable conditions, for investments in energy efficiency by local small and medium enterprises (SMEs), including those owned by women. To this end, an Energy Efficiency Revolving Fund (EERF) will be set up and operationalized to provide low interest loans to SMEs with the option of a credit guarantee product. The EERF will be financed with a concessional loan of ADB, with these resources subsequently on-lent to participating financial institutions (PFIs). The SME Bank, a state-owned bank under Cambodia's Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), is proposed as the financial intermediary that will administer the EERF. This critical connection between much-needed financing to local SMEs for energy efficiency investments is pivotal to deepening energy efficiency in the country.
The effectiveness of a financing mechanism like the proposed EERF is also predicated on the establishment of an enabling policy and regulatory framework on energy efficiency, which was developed under subprogram 1 and subprogram 2, and will continue under subprogram 3.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has been supporting Cambodia's energy transition for several years, in particular through the development of sectoral reforms under the Energy Transition Sector Development Program (ETSDP). The ETSDP Subprogram 1 (SP1), approved in 2022, ushered in landmark policy and planning measures, which were combined with investments in novel energy technologies in Cambodia. The energy transition will require continued and sustained efforts by RGC, which would need to be supported technically and financially by development partners such as ADB.

Early Warning System Project Analysis
For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

The ADB categorized the project E&S risks as follows:

Environment - B
Involuntary Resettlement - C
Indigenous Peoples - C

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

ADB Team Leader:

Joao Aleluia
Email: jaleluia@adb.org 

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit an information request for project information at: https://www.adb.org/forms/request-information-form

ADB has a two-stage appeals process for requesters who believe that ADB has denied their request for information in violation of its Access to Information Policy. You can learn more about filing an appeal at: https://www.adb.org/site/disclosure/appeals

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF ADB

The Accountability Mechanism is an independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an Asian Development Bank-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the Accountability Mechanism, they may investigate to assess whether the Asian Development Bank is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. You can learn more about the Accountability Mechanism and how to file a complaint at: http://www.adb.org/site/accountability-mechanism/main.

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How it works