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The government will use a US$93.8 million (K147.3 billion) loan from South Korea to construct a data centre to support e-government processes.
The Ministry of Transport and Communications gave a presentation to seek approval for the loan at the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (bicameral legislature) on Monday.
“The main benefit we will gain from the project is its cost-effectiveness. All government ministries can be integrated, which will improve information security and efficiency,” Transport and Communications Minister U Thant Zin Maung told the session.
The project would strengthen the government’s online services and enable the public to use them easily anytime and anywhere, he said. “The flow of information between government organisations, businesses and the public across Myanmar will become easier and faster,” he said.
Transport and Communications Deputy Minister U Maung Maung Win said the 40-year loan will have a 15-year grace period and an interest rate of 0.01 percent per year, adding that Myanmar will contribute US$10.5 million for the data-centre project. In the fiscal year up to March 31, the country’s foreign debt totalled US$10.2 billion.
The interest rate for the loan falls to zero if a small- or medium-sized South Korean business wins the bidding for the project,” said U Thant Zin Maung.
The data centre will be built in Nay Pyi Taw beginning next year and is expected to be completed in two years if approval can be obtained to sign the loan agreement in January.
Although Myanmar’s ICT development plan for 2005-10 called for the implementation of e-government services, the government lacked funding to start the work. |
