ABD to provide $616 million in power sector

Economic Correspondent: Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide $ 616 million to Bangladesh to help implement a project for enhancing the coverage and reliability of its power system and improving the efficiency of the distribution network.

The ADB signed a deal with the Bangladesh government in this regard at a programme in NEC conference room on Monday.

Secretary, Economic Relations Division, Ministry of Finance, Kazi Shofiqul Azam and ADB country director Kazuhiko Higuchi, signed the agreements on behalf of Bangladesh and ADB respectively.

The proposed project titled 'Bangladesh Power System Enhancement and Efficiency Improvement Project' will boost the coverage and improve the reliability and efficiency of the transmission and distribution network to facilitate better utilisation of the expanding power generation capacity to meet the growth in electricity demand across the country.

The ADB assistance, which will fund the Bangladesh Power System Enhancement and Efficiency Improvement Project, is comprised of a concessional loan of $16 million and a market-based loan of $600 million. A $2 million grant from the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction, financed by the government of Japan, is part of the project.


risingbd/Dhaka/May 29, 2017/Hasan/Nasim