World Bank approves 500 mln USD to facilitate Bangladesh’s electricity distribution

DHAKA — The World Bank has approved 500 million U.S. dollars to help Bangladesh expand and modernize the electricity distribution system and support the sustainable transformation of its electricity system.

The “Electricity Distribution Modernization Program” will deliver improved electricity services to about 40 million people in Dhaka and Mymensingh Division in the northern part of Bangladesh, the multilateral lender said here Wednesday.

It will upgrade and construct more than 31,000 km of distribution lines, 157 distribution substations, and related infrastructure, and incorporate measures to increase climate resilience of network infrastructure in 25 rural electric cooperatives (Palli Bidyut Samities) in the Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board, said the lender.

“In the last decade, Bangladesh achieved a more than fourfold increase in electricity generation capacity and delivered electricity connections to more than 99 percent of its population. But the electricity distribution network could not keep pace with the remarkable increase in electricity generation,” said Dandan Chen, World Bank acting country director for Bangladesh.

“This program will help modernize and ensure climate resilience of the distribution network, which is the backbone of a secure and reliable power system,” she said.

According to the bank, the program will introduce a modern grid system that can support the two-way flow of electricity and information, minimizing and recovering quickly from climate and cyber risks, including natural disasters and extreme weather events.