Bangladesh seeks $350 mln World Bank loan for energy

DHAKA, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Bangladesh is seeking a loan of more than $350 million from the World Bank to boost its power sector and build pipelines to transmit natural gas to help ease its power crisis, a senior official said on Sunday.

"We are almost in the final stage (of getting the loan approved) and the money will be utilised to implement a number of projects in the energy sector, including setting up a 300-megawtt (MW) power plant," said Mohammad Mohsin, secretary in the government's energy division.

The Washington-based Bank had committed initially to a $275 million loan but later raised the amount at the request of Bangladesh government, said an official at the World Bank's Dhaka office.

With the additional funds, a 60-km (38-mile) pipeline will be built to carry natural gas from the Bakhrabad field to the Siddhirganj power station.

An 11-km 230kv power transmission line will also be built to supply electricity from the power station to the Dhaka city.

Following a severe power crisis across the country, the country's development partners including the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the Japanese government have agreed to fund the sector.

Bangladesh is facing power shortages of up to 1,500 MW each day, and hundreds of factories have been idled across the country.

"Since power and energy are the lifeline for the economy, we are committed to help Bangladesh," the World Bank official told Reuters.

($1 = 68.52 taka)

(Reporting by Serajul Islam Quadir; Editing by Anis Ahmed)