May 25 (Bloomberg) -- Myanmar's junta is seeking billions of dollars for reconstruction at a donor conference today, as aid agencies call on the military regime to honor its pledge to allow relief workers into areas devastated by Cyclone Nargis.

Delegates from about 45 countries and regional bodies attended the conference in the former capital, Yangon, sponsored by the United Nations and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Senior General Than Shwe, who leads the country formerly known as Burma, two days ago pledged to drop restrictions on international relief workers trying to help an estimated 2.4 million people needing aid in the southern Irrawaddy River delta. The amount of money the international community is willing to donate may depend on signs the regime will uphold that promise.

``The donor countries are interested in giving support, but again it's subject to access,'' Ramesh Shrestha, the UN Children's Fund representative for Myanmar, said in a telephone interview. ``There's not going to be a straight forward yes or no answer given at the conference.''

More than 130,000 people are dead or missing after the cyclone slammed into Myanmar on May 2-3 packing winds of 120 miles (190 kilometers) an hour. The UN estimates that only a quarter of the people needing aid in the worst-hit areas have been reached, and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon held talks with ruling generals to press for greater international access.

Junta's Pledge

Than Shwe told Ban the regime will let aid workers help with the relief effort, regardless of their nationalities. He also said Yangon airport can be used to distribute international aid and supplies can be delivered to the country in civilian ships.

``I hope all these agreements can produce results quickly. Implementation will be the key,'' said Ban, who yesterday opened a transport hub at Bangkok's Don Mueang airport to fly supplies into neighboring Myanmar. ``Finally we have agreed on the kind of effective coordination and consulting mechanisms we need.''

The junta is ready to let international relief workers help with rehabilitation and reconstruction, ``in accordance with our priorities and the extent of work that needs to be done,'' Agence France-Presse cited General Thein Sein, who is Myanmar's prime minister, as telling the conference.

The junta estimates the cyclone may have caused $10.7 billion in damage, according to Shrestha, who met last week with U Soe Tha, the country's development minister.

`Relief Phase'

Thein Sein told Ban last week that the ``relief phase'' is now over and that the junta wants to focus on reconstruction in the wake of the cyclone.

The junta intends to spend money pledged at the conference on rebuilding hospitals and schools, restoring rice fields flooded with salt water and constructing a 30-foot (9-meter) sea wall, AFP cited Penny Lawrence, international director of Oxfam, as saying.

The junta's insistence that it's coping with the relief effort, when hundreds of thousands of people still need aid three weeks after the cyclone struck, won't inspire donors to dig deep into their pockets, AFP cited her as saying yesterday in Bangkok.

``Donors want to be giving to save lives,'' Lawrence said.

Myanmar's agriculture industry needs ``urgent assistance'' to overcome the cyclone damage, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

Only a few weeks remain until the rice planting season begins and farmers must be provided with salt-tolerant seed varieties for fields still flooded with sea water, He Changchui, the FAO's chief in the Asia-Pacific region, said in a statement.

To contact the reporters on this story: Ed Johnson in Sydney at ejohnson28@bloomberg.net; Daniel Ten Kate in Bangkok at dtenkate@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: May 25, 2008 02:12 EDT