Dhaka, Sept. 23 -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $200 million loan to modernise Bangladesh's electricity distribution network in fast-growing industrial and urban areas around Dhaka.

The project will upgrade substations and more than 2,600km of distribution lines as the power network struggles to keep pace with rising demand, ageing infrastructure and technical losses, the ADB said in a statement on Wednesday.

The Power Distribution Network Enhancement Project will cover 13 Palli Bidyut Samities (PBSs), or rural electricity cooperatives, under the Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB).

The ADB said overloaded substations and growing exposure to natural hazards were also affecting electricity services in the ar...