Increasing Financing for Private Water Operators in Cambodia: WASH-FIN Country Brief

Despite some progress in recent years, access to WASH services remains unequal and relatively low in some areas in Cambodia. As of 2020, an estimated 57 percent of the population in urban areas had access to safely managed drinking water, while this figure was only 18 percent in rural areas.

This disparity between urban and rural areas is even more pronounced once income levels are considered. Cambodia’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for WASH include the need to address inequalities, achieve universal access by 2030, and ensure access to safely managed sanitation and water supply, rather than only supplying “basic services.”

However, the country’s low piped water supply coverage and the lack of sustained investment in infrastructure continue to present major barriers to the timely achievement of the SDGs. As of 2018, Cambodia was facing an annual investment gap of US$191 million to adequately expand water services to meet intermediate 2025 SDG targets.