Bangladesh gets $465 mln ADB power-loan

DHAKA (Reuters) - Bangladesh will get a $465 million loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to finance two new power plants to ease chronic electricity shortages that have sparked violent protests and hurt the country's economy.

"The program supports the government's goal of providing reliable electricity to the entire country by 2020, and will result into better and more affordable services to the public," said Pil-Bae Song, head of the project administration unit of ADB's South Asia Department.

Bangladesh can produce at best 3,000 MW electricity against demand of 5,000 MW and barely 30 percent of the country's 140 million people have access to electricity.