HispanicBusiness

The United States announced Friday it was providing $280 million to Pakistan in order to address the country's worsening energy shortfall.

Mark Stroh, the U.S. embassy spokesman in Islamabad, said the funds would support improvements to the existing Mangla Dam and construction of the Kurram Tangi Dam.

Pakistanis are experiencing hours of power outages every day as the country suffers severe energy shortages. The situation has been intensified by the holy month of Ramadan - when Muslims abstain from eating and drinking from pre-dawn to sunset - occurring this year during the summer season.

The embassy said U.S. support of large-scale Pakistani infrastructure projects was expected to add 900 megawatts to the national power grid by 2013 - enough to power two million households and businesses.

The release comes a day after $1.18 billion were transferred to Pakistan under the Coalition Support Funds, which assists Islamabad in its fight against militants.