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Monday, September 08, 2008

MANILA: Pakistan will receive an 810 million dollar loan to help address its growing electricity needs, the Asian Development Bank said on Sunday.

The loan is to be released in several instalments over 10 years to support Islamabad's 5.2 billion dollar power distribution enhancement programme, the Manila-based lender said. Pakistan's national power grid is short of generating capacity and suffers from poorly maintained transmission and distribution systems that lead to supply disruptions, ADB said.

System losses from distribution companies range between ten and 33 per cent. “A secure and predictable electricity supply will lead to social and economic benefits and improve conditions for schools, hospitals and other social services,” said ADB energy specialist Rune Stroem. The funding will focus on the distribution sector, which is burdened with worn out and overloaded infrastructure, power losses and capacity shortfalls.