WB to invest $1.0b in Myanmar power sector

NAY PYI TAW, Jan 27 (Xinhua): World Bank (WB) is seeking to invest US$1.0 billion in Myanmar's power sector including generation, transmission and distribution over the next five years, said Jim Yong Kim, WB President, on Monday.
Kim made the remarks in his speech at the opening of the Second Myanmar Development Cooperation Forum in Nay Pyi Taw.
The WB group will support for Myanmar in the coming years in three areas that are closely aligned with country's priorities, namely energy, health and agriculture, through a multi-year public and private sector investment programme of around $2.0 billion, Kim said.
He disclosed that Myanmar could increase access to electricity to 50 per cent of the population in 2020 with these funding from WB and private sector, expecting to achieve government's goal of universal electricity access by 2030.
He noted that investing in Myanmar's electricity potential will not only improve the lives of its citizens, but will also create a better business environment, believing that in turn will create jobs and help the country prosper and reduce poverty.
A total of 70 per cent of Myanmar's people lack access to electricity, Kim added. He underlined that WB strongly endorsed Myanmar's ambitious target of achieving universal health coverage by 2030.
The WB group plans to invest $200 million to support the government's effort to achieve universal health coverage.
In the agriculture sector, WB will help Myanmar with technical assistance and funding to improve its agricultural productivity.
Agriculture, which accounts for 43 per cent of GDP, generates about 54 per cent of employment and provides livelihoods to more than 70 per cent of the population, Kim added.
By June this year, the WB group will have committed more than $700 million for Myanmar.