World Bank to invest 1 bln USD in Myanmar's power sector

NAY PYI TAW, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- World Bank(WB) is seeking to invest one billion U.S.dollars 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 program of around 2 billion dollars, Kim said.

He disclosed that Myanmar could increase access to electricity to 50 percent 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 percent 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 dollars 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 percent of GDP, generates about 54 percent of employment and provides livelihoods to more than 70 percent of the population, Kim added.

By June this year, the WB group will have committed more than 700 million dollars for Myanmar.

Kim encouraged that the WB group will stand with Myanmar to overcome the major challenges that lie ahead and to help it dramatically increase accesses to electricity and health and significantly improve agriculture production.

Organized by the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development (NPED), the opening of the two-day forum was also attended by Myanmar President U Thein Sein, Vice President Sai Mauk Kham, UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (ESCAP) Under Secretary General and Executive Director Dr. Noeleen Heyzer as well as related ministers, parliament members, representatives from development partners, donor countries, local and foreign non-governmental organizations and social organizations.

President U Thein Sein delivered a separate speech at the opening of the forum.

The sessions of the forum are to discuss strategies for the future, strengthening culture of democracy and national harmony, and hold parallel sessions as well as roundtable discussions.

The First Development Cooperation Forum was held here in January 2013, in which the Nay Pyi Taw Accord Effective Development Cooperation was approved.

Development partners then agreed to prioritize implementation of specific sectors including achievable programs under the Economic and Social Reform Framework.

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