Feb 15 (Reuters) - The World Bank is discussing
plans to add 120 MW of electricity in Myanmar - enough to
provide power to five million people - in support of the
Southeast Asian country's reforms after debt arrears were
cleared, a senior bank official said on Friday.
"Unfortunately only 25 percent of the population have access
to electricity, so clearly there is an enormous challenge and
our medium-term agenda is ... to turn on the lights,
particularly in the rural areas," said Axel van Trotsenburg, the
bank's East Asia and Pacific Region vice president.
"We would like to see that there is a much broader-based
sharing of development and electricity will be important there,"
he told reporters in Washington, following a five-day tour of
the country also known as Burma.
Myanmar President Thein Sein, who heads a quasi-civilian
government, has freed political prisoners, unmuzzled the media
and begun to reform the economy. In response, Western countries
have eased sanctions imposed on the military regime.
The country, resource-rich but underdeveloped after decades
of isolation, cleared a major hurdle to getting help from
international financial institutions last month when it cleared
about $420 million in debt arrears accumulated under the
military.
The World Bank has approved $165 million in interest-free,
long-term International Development Association loans to expand
access to electricity and other potential projects, said van
Trotsenburg.
Another $440 million
credit agreed last month will support macroeconomic stability and help
Myanmar meet foreign exchange needs, including repaying a bridge loan Japan provided to clear the debt arrears, the bank said in a statement.
Lending to support the electricity upgrade would replace
outdated, 40-year-old gas turbines with new ones that were 2.5
times as efficient, helping expand rural access to power and
reduce brown outs in cities.
The Dutch-Austrian economist, a 25-year veteran of the World
Bank, said the delegation he took to Myanmar met government
officials and private sector and civil society leaders and
"came away very, very encouraged."
"What has been very positive is that you feel the wind of
change and you feel also the desire to get development (going)
forward in the country," said van Trotsenburg.
(Reporting by Paul Eckert; Editing by David Gregorio)
source: Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/15/myanmar-worldbank-idUSL1N0BFD1V20130215
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