$600m WB funds for rural power

The World Bank Board has approved $ 600 million for Bangladesh to improve the country's “quality” of power supply in rural areas.
The funds would be used in the Rural Electricity Transmission and Distribution Project “to reduce system losses and enhance capacity” in the electricity network, the global lender said in a media release Friday.
Only 42 per cent of the rural Bangladesh currently has access to electricity, according to the World Bank.
It said the funds would support new lines and substations as well as upgrade existing lines in the rural areas of Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet divisions.
The credit from the International Development Association (IDA), the Bank’s concessionary arm, would carry a service charge of 0.75 per cent and would have 40 years to maturity with a 10-year grace period, according to a news agency.