Myanmar launches Smart Village project to minimize rural-urban gap

[Photo/Global New Light of Myanmar] Source: <https://www.gnlm.com.mm/smart-village-projects-launched-in-44-villages/>

A Smart Village project is being implemented in 88 villages in Myanmar's regions and states to reduce the development gap between urban and rural areas, Zar Ni Minn, director of the department of rural development, said on Tuesday.
The five-year project was carried out by the department of rural development under the Ministry of Cooperatives and Rural Development.
"Myanmar has implemented the Smart Village project in 43 villages in the fiscal year 2022-23. For this year, the project was to be implemented in 45 villages," he said.
The project is aimed at minimizing the development gap between urban and rural areas, improving the socio-economic life of the rural people and strengthening their economy, he added.
Villages selected for the project are based on infrastructure, territorial peace, transportation, and agricultural and business potential. The implementation of the project costs about 1 billion kyats (476,190 U.S. dollars) per village, the director said.
As a result, developments such as the improvement of village roads and the emergence of farm roads can be seen in the villages where the project is implemented. In addition, technical training is provided and social protection activities are carried out there, he explained.
"We hope that poverty will be reduced to zero in the villages after completing the project," he said.

Source: <https://english.news.cn/20230815/d62fe7e55bed48a88815c0222592a4e6/c.html>