(Kyodo) - The World Bank said Wednesday it will grant $33.5 million for improving power supplies in Cambodia and Laos.
"People living in Cambodia's poorest provinces, who currently pay among the highest tariffs for electricity in the world, will see their power bills drop dramatically as a result of grants approved today by the International Development Association," the World Bank said in a statement released in Phnom Penh.
The grants are part of the World Bank's Greater Mekong Sub-region Power Trade Program that links Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam in the project.
"A grant of $18.5 million to the Kingdom of Cambodia will be used to construct cross-border transmission lines to neighboring Lao PDR (People's Democratic Republic) and Vietnam," it said.
"Another $15 million grant to Lao PDR will support the construction of lines to export power to Cambodia and build a transmission system that links Lao PDR, Cambodia and Thailand. This will help improve the supply of electricity to Saravan Province in the south of Lao PDR," the statement continued.
Ian Porter, World Bank country director for Cambodia and Laos, said the Strategy for World Bank Regional Support to the Mekong sub-region, of which the power trade program is one part, seeks to strengthen regional cooperation and integration so the region can benefit from the development of Southeast Asia's natural resources and rapidly growing economies.
"For the people of the Mekong region to benefit, they will need strong institutions, good policies and reliable infrastructure," Porter said, adding, "The World Bank will be working with the Asian Development Bank and other partners to provide technical assistance, analysis, capacity building and investments so that GMS countries can work together to attract investors and improve services for their people."
The statement said that in Cambodia, where the average person earns about $380 a year and more than a third of the population lives below the poverty line, very few people have access to electricity.
In the country's eastern Kampong Cham and Stung Treng provinces, where people have limited access to electricity, customers can pay up to $0.3 per kilowatt hour.
After the new transmission lines are built, tariffs in these provinces are expected to drop to about $0.10-0.15 per kwh, it said.
Laos is also one of the poorest countries in the region, with a per capita income of $460 a year.
But the country is rich in water and mineral resources. and through a strategy to develop hydropower for export to neighboring countries, close to 50 percent of the people now have access to electricity and the country is earning foreign exchange from power exports.
The GMS Power Project in Cambodia is expected to be completed by August 2011 and the Lao project by 2013.
Currently, Cambodia does not have the infrastructure to generate enough power to meet galloping demand that has been rising 15 to 20 percent annually, according to the Ministry of Mines and Energy.
"People living in Cambodia's poorest provinces, who currently pay among the highest tariffs for electricity in the world, will see their power bills drop dramatically as a result of grants approved today by the International Development Association," the World Bank said in a statement released in Phnom Penh.
The grants are part of the World Bank's Greater Mekong Sub-region Power Trade Program that links Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam in the project.
"A grant of $18.5 million to the Kingdom of Cambodia will be used to construct cross-border transmission lines to neighboring Lao PDR (People's Democratic Republic) and Vietnam," it said.
"Another $15 million grant to Lao PDR will support the construction of lines to export power to Cambodia and build a transmission system that links Lao PDR, Cambodia and Thailand. This will help improve the supply of electricity to Saravan Province in the south of Lao PDR," the statement continued.
Ian Porter, World Bank country director for Cambodia and Laos, said the Strategy for World Bank Regional Support to the Mekong sub-region, of which the power trade program is one part, seeks to strengthen regional cooperation and integration so the region can benefit from the development of Southeast Asia's natural resources and rapidly growing economies.
"For the people of the Mekong region to benefit, they will need strong institutions, good policies and reliable infrastructure," Porter said, adding, "The World Bank will be working with the Asian Development Bank and other partners to provide technical assistance, analysis, capacity building and investments so that GMS countries can work together to attract investors and improve services for their people."
The statement said that in Cambodia, where the average person earns about $380 a year and more than a third of the population lives below the poverty line, very few people have access to electricity.
In the country's eastern Kampong Cham and Stung Treng provinces, where people have limited access to electricity, customers can pay up to $0.3 per kilowatt hour.
After the new transmission lines are built, tariffs in these provinces are expected to drop to about $0.10-0.15 per kwh, it said.
Laos is also one of the poorest countries in the region, with a per capita income of $460 a year.
But the country is rich in water and mineral resources. and through a strategy to develop hydropower for export to neighboring countries, close to 50 percent of the people now have access to electricity and the country is earning foreign exchange from power exports.
The GMS Power Project in Cambodia is expected to be completed by August 2011 and the Lao project by 2013.
Currently, Cambodia does not have the infrastructure to generate enough power to meet galloping demand that has been rising 15 to 20 percent annually, according to the Ministry of Mines and Energy.
