Burma accorded with AIF membership
Posted on December 20th, 2014

By NJ Thakuria

Guwahati: Burma (now known as Myanmar) becomes a shareholder of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Infrastructure Fund as the country has completed all formalities. Emerged as the 11th shareholder of the ASEAN Infrastructure Fund (AIF), the transforming nation thus joined hands with the other ASEAN members and also the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Myanmar is pleased to become a full member of the AIF as this is an important step toward further integration into ASEAN and the global economy, as well as helping the country to access funding to invest in infrastructure to support its long-term development,” quoting U Maung Maung Win, director of AIF for Burma, said an ADB statement issued from Rangoon.

Besides Burma, other ASEAN country members include Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Viet Nam and Philippines.

AIF has so far financed three infrastructure projects for a total of

$165 million, including $25 million for the Java-Bali 500 kv power transmission project, a $40 million loan for a sanitation project (also in Indonesia) and a $100 million loan for a power grid development project in Viet Nam, added the ADB statement.

The AIF Board also approved a pipeline of projects for 2015 and discussed the indicative pipeline for 2016–2017, covering the priority sectors of water, transport and energy. Details of individual projects will be announced as loan negotiations draw to a close.

ADB (established in 1966), which is based in Manila and dedicated for reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific region through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth and regional integration, has $150 million equity in AIF.

Acts as the overall administrator of AIF, the ADB works closely with all AIF shareholders. It provides supports in a number of areas such as establishment of various frameworks to guide AIF operations, formulation of project pipelines, design, processing and implementation of projects, co-financing of all projects and technical & advisory backings.

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