Phnom Penh, 24 July 2026 – The Handover Workshop of the Certified Energy Manager and Auditor Training (CEMAT) Curriculum and Facilities in Cambodia was held at the Institute of Technology of Cambodia (ITC), gathering a total of 42 participants (33 males and 9 females) comprised of government representatives, academia, development partners, and broader energy-efficiency stakeholders.
Jointly organised by the ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) the event handed over the updated energy management training curriculum that was supported by ACE under the Asia Low Carbon Buildings Transition (ALCBT) Project, and the new training facilities, which was supported by Geres under the Capacity Building for Cambodia Energy Efficiency (CapCEE) Project, to ITC for CEMAT programme implementation.
Together, the two initiatives strengthen institutional capacity of ITC with stronger learning content, institutional support, and practical infrastructure for developing qualified energy managers and auditors in Cambodia.
Photo 1. Handover of Certified Energy Manager and Auditor Training (CEMAT) Curriculum and Facilities in Cambodia
The session opened with remarks from Naing Naing Linn, Head of the Energy Efficiency & Conservation (EE&C) Department at ACE. She emphasised that qualified energy management professionals are essential to achieving sustained energy savings and reducing emissions across the region. She highlighted ASEAN’s aspirational target of reducing energy intensity by 40% by 2030 and underscored the importance of regional cooperation in strengthening institutional capacity, promoting knowledge exchange, and harmonising energy-management practices among ASEAN Member States (AMS). She noted that the CEMAT programme in Cambodia contributes to these broader regional efforts by supporting workforce development and advancing the region's shared energy transition goals.
Julie Robles, ALCBT Regional Project Manager, Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), underlined the importance of equipping professionals with not only strong theoretical foundations but also practical skills to support the transition to low-carbon buildings in Cambodia. She highlighted that strengthening the capacity of energy managers and auditors is essential to improving building energy performance, accelerating the adoption of energy-efficient technologies, and supporting countries in achieving their climate goals.
Pius Frick, Country Coordinator of the Liechtenstein Development Service (LED), further stressed the value of combining technical assistance, institutional strengthening, and practical training facilities to establish a credible and sustainable national training programme. In his remarks, Dr. Long Bun, Deputy Director of ITC, reaffirmed ITC’s commitment to strengthening technical capacity through practical and competency-based training.
Lastly, the opening session was concluded with remarks from Dr. Chhuon Sambath Ratanak, Director of Cooperation and Energy Efficiency, General Department of Energy, Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME), underscored that stronger energy-management capacity is critical to implementing Cambodia’s national energy-efficiency policies, welcoming the enhanced CEMAT programme as an important step towards developing qualified energy professionals in Cambodia.
Photo 2. Opening remarks from Naing Naing Linn (second from the left), EE&C Department Manager of ACE; Julie Robles (third from the left), ALCBT Regional Project Manager of GGGI; Dr. Chhuon Sambath Ratanak (fourth from the left), Director of Cooperation and Energy Efficiency, General Department of Energy, MME
Photo 3. Opening remarks from Dr. Long Bun (left), Deputy Director of ITC and Pius Frick (centre), Country Coordinator of LED.
Presenting the collective contributions to CEMAT programme, Léo-Paul Clément, Cambodia Country Representative of Geres, outlined CapCEE’s support for institutional and technical development, training delivery, and practical training facilities. Rizky Aditya Putra, ALCBT Project Manager at ACE, highlighted ALCBT supports in strengthening the energy manager training curriculum and training delivery by curriculum gap analysis, regional benchmarking, and the implementation of one batch of Energy Manager Training to pilot the enhanced materials and gather feedback for further improvement.
Photo 4. Léo-Paul Clément , Cambodia Country Representative of Geres (left) and Rizky Aditya Putra, ALCBT Project Manager at ACE (right), presented the projects' progresses
Dr. Kinnaleth Vongchanh, CEMAT Programme Manager at ITC, shared an overview of CEMAT programme’s development, current training and certification arrangements, participant feedback, and priorities for sustaining a qualified pool of trainers and energy professionals. Dr. Sarin Chan, Vice Dean of ITC, shared lessons learned from energy manager certification systems across AMS, providing regional perspectives to support the continued development of CEMAT in Cambodia. The session concluded with a presentation by Prof. Haslenda Hashim, Curriculum Development Team Leader from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), on the curriculum enhancement process through national alignment and regional benchmarking, technical content improvement, strengthening coverage of ISO 50001, and energy management practices for low carbon building transition.
Photo 5. Dr. Kinnaleth Vongchanh, CEMAT Programme Manager of ITC (left) and Dr. Sarin Chan, Vice Dean of ITC (left), presented the progress and achievements to the Cambodia Energy Management Training Programme.
Photo 6. Prof. Haslenda Hashim, Curriculum Development Team Leader of UTM (Right) presented the curriculum development process and improvement.
Following the presentations, participants joined walkthroughs and facility demonstrations of the Air-Conditioner and Pump, Air Compressor, and Lighting Facility. The sessions demonstrated that the equipment is expected to support practical measurement, testing, analysis, and hands-on exercises in future CEMAT courses, helping trainees connect classroom knowledge with real operating systems. Participants also explored future enhancement of the training programme, including the integration of artificial intelligence and more practice-oriented training structure to conclude the session.
Photo 7. Participants observing demonstrations of the newly established training facilities
The successful handover of the enhanced CEMAT curriculum and the upgraded training facilities represents an important milestone in strengthening Cambodia's institutional capacity for energy efficiency. Through continued collaboration among government, development partners, academic institutions, and regional organisations, the initiative is expected to support the development of qualified energy managers and auditors while contributing to Cambodia's transition towards a more energy-efficient and low-carbon future.
As the next step, the ALCBT Project, in collaboration with Geres through the CapCEE Project, will support the delivery energy manager training using the enhanced curriculum and upgraded facilities, further strengthening Cambodia’s technical workforce and supporting the long-term sustainability of the capacity building programme.
Photo 5. Group photo of Handover Workshop participants
About ALCBT
The Asia Low Carbon Buildings Transition (ALCBT) Project is a five-year initiative (2023-2028) that seeks to reduce GHG emissions by catalyzing nationwide transitions towards low-carbon buildings in five Asian countries: Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam. The project is funded by the Government of Germany’s Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN), through the International Climate Initiative (IKI), and is implemented by a consortium led by GGGI, in partnership with the ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE), Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), and HEAT GmbH.
In Cambodia, the project works in close collaboration with the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning, and Construction (MLMUPC) as the government counterpart. The project will institutionalize a building carbon assessment tool, integrate it with national energy codes, and support the country’s climate targets outlined in the NEEP and NDCs.
