THE Myanmar Information and Communication Technology Development Corporation plans to launch a project in August aimed at increasing public access to the internet.

Public internet access centres will be opened in more than 300 townships under the project, said the corporation’s managing director, U Aung Zaw Myint.

He said planning for the centres, one of a series of e-government projects, began in early July.

A sub-committee under the e-application working committee, which was established to implement the projects, has been formed to oversee the opening of the centres.

U Aung Zaw Myint said there will be three types of centres, involving an investment of between K5 million to more than K10 million.

The plan provides for the first 10 centres to be operated by the corporation and the rest to be established by the private sector.

The facilities available at each centre will be determined by the population and level of development of the townships.

U Aung Zaw Myint said staff at each centre will help those without prior knowledge of the internet.

The K5 million centres will be equipped with two computers and a printer and are proposed for remote areas.

The centres requiring an investment of K10 million will have about 10 computers and a printer.

The most advanced centres will be equipped with multimedia and satellite television facilities and will cost more than K10 million, depending on the services they provide.