$200m AIIB loan will improve electricity access in Bangladesh
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will lend $200 million to Bangladesh to increase access to electricity and improve service efficiency in the capital of Dhaka and the country’s western zone.
Cofinanced with the Asian Development Bank, the project is expected to help Bangladesh achieve its target to provide electricity for all by 2021 and supply uninterrupted electricity to industries by 2020.
By 2025, the Dhaka and Western Zone Transmission Grid Expansion Project is set to cut the number of annual power outages to 15 from 60, reduce transmission loss to 2.50% from 2.76% and add 7,440 megavolt-amperes of power transmission capacity.
The project, which will lead to the construction of 408km of transmission lines, will also have a positive environmental impact, reducing average annual carbon dioxide emissions by 455,785 tonnes.