ADB provides $616 million loan to improve power systems in Bangladesh

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide a $616 million loan to Bangladesh to help the south Asian nation meet its goal of providing 100 per cent access to electricity to its citizens by 2021.

The project includes rehabilitation and expansion of over 50,000 kilometers of rural distribution network across the country, construction of a 174-km 400 kV transmission link between southern Bangladesh and Dhaka, and installation of automated control systems for the distribution network in the capital.

"Nearly one million households, majority in rural areas, will be newly connected through this project," said Kazuhiko Higuchi, country director of ADB in Bangladesh.

The total cost of the project, an agreement for which was signed by the ADB and the Bangladesh government on Monday, is nearly $1.1 billion. ADB is providing a market-based loan of $600 million and a concessional loan of $16 million, while the government will contribute $441 million

The project will bring reliable power supply to 950,000 households and commercial users, including 875,000 households in rural areas, the bank said in a statement.