ADB announces $70bn initiative to boost cross-border electricity trade, increase broadband access in Asia Pacific

ISLAMABAD: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced on Sunday a $70 billion initiative on Sunday to expand energy and digital infrastructure across the ​Asia-Pacific region by 2035, aiming to strengthen power grid ‌links, boost cross-border electricity trade and increase broadband access.

The plan includes $50bn for a new Pan‑Asia Power Grid Initiative and $20bn for the Asia-Pacific Digital Highway project.

At the inaugural session of its May 3-6 annual meeting in Samarkand, the Manila-based lending agency said it “will back $70bn in new energy and digital infrastructure initiatives by 2035, aiming to connect power grids, expand cross-border electricity trade, and improve broadband access across Asia and the Pacific”.

“Energy and digital access will define the region’s future,” said ADB President Masato Kanda. “These two initiatives build the systems Asia and the Pacific need to grow, compete, and connect. By linking power grids and digital networks across borders, we can lower costs, expand opportunity, and bring reliable power and digital access to hundreds of millions of people”, he said, according to the ADB announcement.

Pan‑Asia Power Grid Initiative

Pakistan, that continues to face the complex challenge of electricity shortages despite surplus generation capacity, could benefit from the initiative. But an official told Dawn that it was too early to reach a conclusion.

Pakistan sits at the crossroads of surplus generation capacity, demand curve and supply shortage, said a government official, adding that with regional cooperation facilitated by an international multilateral and digitally synchronised by AI-driven smart infrastructure could be win-win solution for all. He declined to officially comment on record, saying the initiative had just been announced and would have to be examined in detail on technical, financial and diplomatic grounds once it passed through the official channels and forums.

Pakistan’s daytime demand drops to an average of 9,000-10,000 megawatts (MW), owing to large penetration of solar systems, and peak demand surges beyond 29,000MW while grid-connected generation capacity exceeds 36,000MW. Off-grid, hybrid and net-metered solar capacity takes the country’s total installed capacity beyond 58,000MW. Yet, consumers at times suffer long hours of electricity loadshedding due to fuel shortages.

“The Pan-Asia Power Grid Initiative will connect national and subregional power systems so renewable energy can flow across borders, while the Asia-Pacific Digital Highway will help close the digital infrastructure gap and enable the region to benefit from AI-driven growth,” the ADB said. Under the Pan-Asia Power Grid Initiative, ADB will work with governments, utilities, the private sector, and development partners to mobilise $50bn by 2035 for cross-border power infrastructure that can unlock renewable energy at scale, it added.

The initiative will focus on transmission and grid integration, including cross-border lines, substations, storage, and grid digitalisation. It will also support power generation linked to electricity trade, including renewable energy export projects, regional renewable hubs, and hybrid generation-storage facilities.

By 2035, ADB aims to integrate about 20 gigawatts of renewable energy across borders, connect 22,000 circuit-kilometres of transmission lines, improve energy access for 200 million people, create 840,000 jobs, and cut regional power sector emissions by 15 per cent.

ADB expects to finance about half of the $50bn initiative from its own resources and raise the rest through cofinancing, including from the private sector. Up to $10m in technical assistance will support efforts to align regulations, adopt common technical standards, prepare feasibility studies and advance other work needed for major projects.

The Pan-Asia Power Grid Initiative marks a shift from country-to-country energy links to a regional approach to power trade. It builds on existing subregional cooperation initiatives, including the South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation programme, the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation grid interconnection planning, the Asean Power Grid, and the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Energy Strategy 2030.

Asia-Pacific Digital Highway

The Asia-Pacific Digital Highway will mobilise $20bn by 2035 to finance digital corridors, data infrastructure, and AI-ready economies. Investments will focus on connected infrastructure, including terrestrial and subsea fiber networks, satellite links and regional data centres. ADB will also provide policy and regulatory support, including on cybersecurity risk management, and invest in skill programmes to strengthen digital and AI readiness, ADB said.

By 2035, the initiative aims to provide first-time broadband access to 200 million people and faster, more reliable digital connectivity for another 450m people across the region. It is expected to cut connectivity costs in remote and landlocked areas by about 40pc and help create 4m jobs. “ADB expects to finance $15bn of the $20bn initiative from its own resources and raise $5bn through cofinancing, including from the private sector”, it said, adding the Centre for AI Innovation and Development will be established in Seoul to support the initiative.

Backed by a $20m contribution from the Korean government, the centre will promote responsible and inclusive AI adoption and help train about 3m people in digital and AI-related skills by 2035.