YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Myanmar's government has for the first time invited foreign firms to invest in the country's electric power system in an effort to solve dire electricity shortages.
Demonstrators in several cities protested persistent power outages for a week late last month in gatherings that were seen as a test of the tolerance of a reformist civilian government after decades of military rule.
The Electric Power Ministry took out advertisements in state-run newspapers Friday and Saturday that read, "Invitation to private sector for electricity production and distribution." The ads called on local and foreign companies to help the government "distribute electricity in the whole country as quickly as possible."
Myanmar has suffered from power shortages for more than a decade.
