Myanmar energy sector ‘critical’ to reducing poverty – report

Strengthening Myanmar’s energy sector will help reduce poverty and boost development prospects for the Southeast Asian country, according to a report from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The report, published last month, sought to underline the scale of investment required by both the public and private sectors to set Myanmar on course for long-term energy security.

Myanmar was described by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in its World Energy Outlook 2012 as an extreme example of “energy poverty”; it boasts an average electrification rate of just 16%...