The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a 127.8-million-U.S.-dollar loan to support the construction of transmission lines and substations in Cambodia, a bank press statement said on Friday.

The project will help provide Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, and three other provinces with stable and reliable electricity supply, the statement said.

"The Grid Reinforcement Project, along with ADB's ongoing assistance to Cambodia in power system planning, shows that adequate, reliable, and environmentally sustainable power supply can be provided at reasonable cost to support equitable development," said ADB country director for Cambodia Sunniya Durrani-Jamal.

The government has set energy sector development as a national priority, as more robust electricity supply will boost economic productivity and the quality of life, the statement said.

It added that while Cambodia has made significant progress in expanding lower-cost power generation in the past 15 years, its existing transmission infrastructure is reaching capacity and needs to be expanded and reinforced to avoid supply interruptions.

The project will help the Electricite du Cambodge, Cambodia's national electricity utility, strengthen its transmission infrastructure by financing the construction of four 115-230 kilovolt transmission lines and 10 substations in Phnom Penh and Kampong Chhnang, Kampong Cham, and Takeo provinces.