UK gives 50m pounds for power supply
UNB, Dhaka
British Department for International Development (DFID) gives 50 million pounds sterling (Tk 575 crore) to Bangladesh to connect 1.35 million households and businesses to electricity supply in under-served areas of the country. UK International Development Minister Gareth Thomas announced the substantial assistance yesterday, which will be received over the next five years. The overall programme cost is 161 million pounds and Bangladesh government will contribute the remaining 122 million pounds through the Annual Development Programme (ADP). The DFID will provide 38 million pounds for investment components to the Rural Electrification Board (Reb) through the finance ministry, while 10 million pounds to increase access to electricity of poor people through micro-finance and 2 million pounds through USAID to provide technical advice for cooperative members' education, impact studies and supervision. At present only 25 percent of the rural population in Bangladesh has access to electricity. The Rural Electrification Board will start implementing the programme from July 2005, and once the electricity lines are installed, they will be run by rural electricity cooperatives to operate on a break-even basis. The DFID programme will strengthen the work of the local electricity cooperatives, which manage the service at the local level and will also help improve their performance by funding training for managers and members.
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