Zarni Min Naing/MBT
The Ministry of Electric Power (MOEP) said it will provide electricity to roughly 230,000 more households in the country by 2017.
“We are implementing this according to National Electrification Plan. The goal for each year is stated in the plan and we are trying to follow through,” U Aung Ko Ko, director from the Ministry of Electric Power, said.
Currently, only 3.4 million households have access to electricity in Myanmar and more than 7.47 million households continue to have no access to electricity, according to MOEP figures.
“Only 31 percent of househol
ds in Myanmar have access to electricity but 69 percent of households have no electric power. If the country cannot fill the demand gap, we will face difficulties to grow our economy between 2017 and 2020,” U Aung Ko Ko added.
In some regions of the country, locals are trying to generate electricity themselves and one unit costs more than K100, U Aung Ko Ko said.
The Ministry of Electric Power is accepting loans from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in order to implement the National Electrification Plan, the Ministry said.
There are three kinds of projects that the Ministry is implementing. The first type is implemented by the Ministry with government budget, the second type is implemented in cooperation with local companies and the third type is in joint venture with foreign firms.
The National Electrification Plan, which aims to electrify 100 percent of Myanmar households in 2030, was drafted in cooperation with World Bank and the Ministry of Electric Power.
Currently, 19 transmission lines of 500KV, four power stations of 230KV, one power station of 132KV and 29 power stations of 66KV are under construction. Per the electrification plan, 398 towns and 27,710 villages has access to electric power now, according to the Ministry.
From:Myanmar Business Today