Singapore’s United Overseas Bank (UOB) will finance Royal GK, the Singapore-based procurement and construction company, as it assists Myanmar in meeting its increasing demand for energy, UOB has announced.

Royal GK has signed a contract with the Myanmar Central Power Company (MCPC) to provide engines for a gas-fired electricity power plant in Hlawga, Yangon.

The new power plant will generate 175,000 megawatt hours of electricity each year once completed in June, UOB said.

The deal with Royal GK is among several UOB-signed contracts to assist electricity network development in Myanmar.

The Myanmar government has given top priority to energy investments in order to meet the rising demand for power in local households and enterprises.

According to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), only a quarter of Myanmar’s population (51 million people) has access to electricity.

Last year, the UOB also financed Singapore-based Asiatech Energy in the construction of a combined cycle gas-fired power plant in Mon State, Myanmar.

The bank also worked with US-based APR Energy to build a 100 megawatt power plant in Mandalay.

The UOB is one of nine foreign banks licensed to operate in Myanmar, as approved by the country’s Central Bank in October last year.-VNA