$108m Japanese aid sought to light remote villages
Thursday, 22 July 2010
FHM Humayan Kabir
The government has sought more than US$100 million from Japan to set up solar power systems in schools, healthcare centres, households and commercial establishments in remote villages, officials said Wednesday.
The state-run power distributor -- Rural Electrification Board (REB)-- has taken the initiative to supply power to the off-grid areas in remote 114 villages across the country.
"We have sought US$108 million from the Japanese government to light the remote villages through installation of solar power systems," a senior economic relations division (ERD) official told the FE.
The REB officials said they have taken a plan to light more than 200 schools, nearly 150 healthcare centres, about 30,000 households and 100 other consumers through the green energy solutions.
Some 150,000 consumers will get connection of electricity from solar power systems in the remote villages, where the REB's electricity supply from the national grid is difficult, an official said.
"We have a plan to install the solar power systems in the selected 114 villages under the scheme by the end 2011," he said.
If the Japanese government confirms the fund for the scheme, we will go to the remote villages as soon as possible as hundreds of villages in the country is still out of electricity, he added.
The REB has, so far, connected nearly 8.20 million consumers in some 48,400 villages across the country to the power grid.
It has also installed some solar home systems in rural areas, which is very negligible in number against the demand.Bangladesh's per capita electricity consumption is 156 kilowatt-hour (Kwh), which is one of the lowest in South Asia.
|Fifty-three per cent people has still no access to electricity as the country's power generation has shortfall against the growing 8.0 per cent annual demand.
The senior REB official said as we have shortage of power in the national grid, we have taken the move for supplying green electricity to the remote villages.
The government has sought more than US$100 million from Japan to set up solar power systems in schools, healthcare centres, households and commercial establishments in remote villages, officials said Wednesday.
The state-run power distributor -- Rural Electrification Board (REB)-- has taken the initiative to supply power to the off-grid areas in remote 114 villages across the country.
"We have sought US$108 million from the Japanese government to light the remote villages through installation of solar power systems," a senior economic relations division (ERD) official told the FE.
The REB officials said they have taken a plan to light more than 200 schools, nearly 150 healthcare centres, about 30,000 households and 100 other consumers through the green energy solutions.
Some 150,000 consumers will get connection of electricity from solar power systems in the remote villages, where the REB's electricity supply from the national grid is difficult, an official said.
"We have a plan to install the solar power systems in the selected 114 villages under the scheme by the end 2011," he said.
If the Japanese government confirms the fund for the scheme, we will go to the remote villages as soon as possible as hundreds of villages in the country is still out of electricity, he added.
The REB has, so far, connected nearly 8.20 million consumers in some 48,400 villages across the country to the power grid.
It has also installed some solar home systems in rural areas, which is very negligible in number against the demand.Bangladesh's per capita electricity consumption is 156 kilowatt-hour (Kwh), which is one of the lowest in South Asia.
|Fifty-three per cent people has still no access to electricity as the country's power generation has shortfall against the growing 8.0 per cent annual demand.
The senior REB official said as we have shortage of power in the national grid, we have taken the move for supplying green electricity to the remote villages.