The number of communities in the central dry zone with access to safe drinking water will rise under a ¥1.242 billion (US$1.3 million) grant from Japan’s overseas aid agency, state-controlled media reported on September 26.
The grant from the Japan International Cooperation Agency will fund the sinking of more than 100 deep wells in Mandalay, Magwe and Sagaing regions, the Global New Light of Myanmar said.
The grant agreement was signed by U Khant Zaw, the director general of the Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Rural Development’s Rural Development Department and Mr Keiichiro Nakazawa, JICA’s chief country representative, on September 24, it said.
As well as contributing to improved living standards among the rural population in the central dry zone, the project aims to upgrade the department’s well drinking equipment and strengthening its capacity to analyse water quality.
The grant will cover the cost of buying equipment such as a truck-mounted drilling machine, compressors and submersible pumps, the report said.
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