YEREVAN, August 1. / ARKA /. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $37 million loan for Armenia to help it rehabiliate its electricity transmission system. The loan will be granted from ADB’s special concessional fund.

"The loan is designed to help Armenia make a major overhaul of its electricity transmission system inherited from the Soviet era, including the expansion of the management and sharing of data and modernization of two high-voltage substations," the Manila-based bank said in a statement.

The project is supposed to reduce losses in transmission lines, to increase the capacity of substations and improve the quality and reliability of power supply in urban and rural communities, which, in turn, is beneficial in both economic and social aspects.

The aim of the ADB is to reduce poverty in Asia and the Far East through the inclusive growth of the economy, sustainable development and regional integration.

ADB, created in 1966, includes 67 states. In 2013, ADB assistance totaled $21 billion, including co-financing of $6.6 billion.-0-