Chbar Mon City, Kampong Speu Province — Cambodia
Uon Vichetr
Chairman, Adaeng Development Co., Ltd. & Adaeng Land Co., Ltd. — General Secretary, Energy Project Coordination Secretariat, Ministry of National Defense — Founding Director, Sao Sary Foundation
Twenty-five years spent on the working end of Cambodia's development: securing land, negotiating power purchase agreements, and standing between sovereign master plans and the foreign capital that can build against them. This page is the plain record of that work.
Two decades between the ministry and the term sheet
A career that started in nonprofit data systems and public-health logistics, and moved toward the land, energy and infrastructure deals that now define it.
I began this work in 2006, founding the Sao Sary Foundation with funding from international donors and spending the years after in the field — sanitary toilets, ceramic water filters, wells — before that grew into the piped-water concessions and power projects that occupy most of my time now. Along the way I taught quantitative analysis and GIS spatial modeling at university, and took on consulting assignments for the World Bank, UNDP, UNICEF, CARE and Action Against Hunger.
Today the work sits at a specific junction: Cambodia's Power Development Master Plan and land laws on one side, and the investors, contractors and trading partners who need a way into them on the other. Adaeng Development and Adaeng Land handle the commercial and land-securitization side; my role at the Ministry of National Defense's Energy Project Coordination Secretariat sits closer to the sovereign side of that same table.
- Chairman, Adaeng Development Co., Ltd. — infrastructure project developmentEst. 2018
- Chairman, Adaeng Land Co., Ltd. — land securitization & LMAP upgradesEst. 2018
- General Secretary, Energy Project Coordination SecretariatMinistry of National Defense
- Founding Director, Sao Sary FoundationEst. 2006
- Former university lecturer, Quantitative Analysis (SPSS) & GIS Spatial ModelingAcademic
How the work is organized
Four pillars, one desk. Commercial development, sovereign-side coordination, joint ventures with regional partners, and the foundation that gives the rest a social license to operate.
Adaeng Development & Adaeng Land
- Infrastructure project development and origination
- Land securitization — soft title to LMAP hard title conversion
- Structuring for 100% foreign-owned SPVs
Ministry of National Defense & CDC
- Energy Project Coordination Secretariat — logistics and EV coordination
- Qualified Investment Project (QIP) navigation with the Council for the Development of Cambodia
- Direct working relationships with MME, EDC and MLMUPC
HuaCam Strategic Alliance
- Formal partnership with Ark Electronics Group and Duriemas Sdn Bhd
- Six special-purpose vehicles across renewables, industrial estates, agro-processing, electronics, real estate and land management
Sao Sary Foundation
- Nonprofit founded 2006, operating for close to twenty years
- 10% of commercial profits committed to foundation programs
- The community relationships that keep commercial sites secure
Projects, stated plainly
Scale, role and current status — including the two lines still in structuring rather than built. Figures reflect awarded and operating documentation, not headline rounding.
| Project | Scale | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Municipal Piped Water Concession — 11 sites, Kampong Speu | $80M BOO · 13,000 families, 54 villages | Developer / operator, holds the 25-year concession | Active |
| Municipal water treatment plants (with CRX & international partners) | $93M and $300M projects | Co-developer, PPP structuring lead | Operational |
| Kampot Multipurpose Port + 678ha SEZ | $1.5B · Phase 1 operational | Strategic development / acquisition | Operational (Ph.1) |
| Priority Solar PV Portfolio — Pursat, Kampong Thom, Kampong Cham, Prey Veng | 445 MW combined, 4 awarded sites | Development / origination across the portfolio | Awarded, construction-ready |
| 500 MW Co-Biomass Hybrid Greenfield | $1.25B estimated | Project sponsor — EDC offtake under negotiation | In development |
| Rumduol Smart Eco-City | $708M · 55-year sovereign concession | Master planner | Master plan approved |
| Cambodia Wind Power Program — 17-zone national master plan | 6,811 MW national plan · 300 MW shovel-ready tranche | Investor entry facilitation, SPV structuring, sovereign introductions | In development |
Read plainly: the wind program and the co-biomass greenfield are large in scale but development-stage — my role there is facilitation and sponsorship, not built or operating capacity. The solar figure of 445 MW is the sum of the four individually awarded sites, which I'd rather understate than round up before each site's documentation is fully in hand.
Where the friction actually is
Foreign capital rarely fails in Cambodia on financial modeling. It stalls on land title, incorporation, tax structuring and offtake certainty — in that order.
Land
Converting raw soft titles to LMAP hard titles and securing long-term holding structures so foreign partners keep operational control.
Structure
Forming joint-venture SPVs through the Ministry of Commerce, built for standard international financial due diligence.
Incentives
Securing Qualified Investment Project status through the CDC — tax holidays and import duty exemptions applied correctly from day one.
Offtake
Negotiating directly with MME and EDC for long-term, USD-denominated power purchase agreements that make revenue predictable.
Sao Sary Foundation
The nonprofit came first, in 2006, and it still funds the reason communities let commercial projects operate on their land.
Sao Sary Foundation started with sanitary toilets, ceramic water filters and wells for the poorest households in Cambodia, and grew alongside my commercial work rather than apart from it. I commit 10% of profits from the commercial side, plus $100,000 USD annually through 2029, directly to its programs. In practical terms, that means the villages hosting a solar array or a logistics hub are the same ones whose schools and clinics the foundation funds — which is a large part of why those assets stay undisturbed.
Independent evaluators, commissioned by SSF's own donors, assessed its impact and outcomes as part of the process that led to the founding of Adaeng Development in 2018.
Where the meetings actually happen
A working record, not a highlight reel.
Working relationships, in their words
"Vichetr is entirely devoted to his cause and does not waver or back down against any challenge — which lets him execute his goals efficiently."
Ryan Ansin, International Partner
"Vichetr and the Sao Sary Foundation set the benchmark for all my future work — few organizations have shown the professionalism and care I have come to expect of him."
Darren Soutcott
Start a conversation
Most engagements begin the same way: a short written introduction, then a mutual NDA before anything sensitive changes hands.
- Phone+855 85 811 558 — WhatsApp, Telegram & WeChat
- Emailvic@vichetruon.com
- Company emailvic@adaengdevelopment.com
- Webvichetruon.com · adaengdevelopment.com
- LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/vichetruon
- OfficeHouse No. 186, Street 09, Chbar Mon City, Kampong Speu Province, Cambodia
How an engagement typically proceeds
- Notice of intent — a short written introduction and a mutual NDA.
- Briefing — feasibility data, zone prioritization and project financials shared directly.
- Site visit — on-the-ground access and introductions to the relevant ministries.
- Structuring — joint-venture formation, legal counsel and term sheet.