The Myanmar government is weighing a potential loan of USD 185 from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The loan is aimed to be used for wide-ranging rural development initiatives.

U Hla Kyaw, deputy minister for the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation, presented the proposal before the Assembly of the Union on September 9. He said the loan would benefit 1.8 million people in over 3000 villages across five states and regions. The regions include Chin, Sagaing, the Naga self-administration region, Tanintharyi and Ayeyarwady. He explained that the money would go towards labor-intensive projects. Those projects are designed to provide jobs and skills for rural populations and alleviate poverty. Many of the projects would protect rural villages from the effects of natural disasters. These projects would be implemented with the “public approach development method”. It would involve recruiting around 1400 young people to serve as local organizers.

“Now we need to take disaster preparedness and preventive measures while trying for sustainable rural development and poverty reduction,” Eleven Media quoted Deputy Minister Hla Kyaw as saying. “Based on these facts, community development projects emerge. If communities themselves try to implement regional development tasks, they will be able to improve their income and living standard, thereby contributing their resilience.”

The proposed loan (payable over 24 years with an eight year grace period) is worth USD 185 million. However, it would bring the value of ongoing rural development projects up to USD 244 million. Of that, the Myanmar government itself is only paying around USD 19 million. The rest comes from aid from the US, the EU and Japan.