(Yicai Global) Jan. 24 -- A project the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank funded has helped improve access to the national power grid in Bangladesh, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.

The scheme has helped the country expand electricity coverage by providing nearly 1 million new service connections in rural areas.

The Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board and Dhaka Electricity Supply Co. have been responsible for implementing the plan. The board said that the two parties will install 2.5 million connections and 65,000 new transformers in rural areas while setting up 75,000 kilometers of power transmission lines, benefitting more than 12.5 million locals.

"Every month we have been providing some 300,000 new service connections," said Shafiqur Rahman, director of the project's USD98.6 million BREB component.

The AIIB and Asian Development Bank (ADB) jointly provided loans to Bangladesh to increase natural gas production efficiency in northern Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, and develop gas transmission infrastructure. The scheme will promote sustainable economic growth and reduce poverty in Bangladesh by addressing natural gas supply constraints and the transmission bottleneck.