BY EDISON JOSEPH GONZALS
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) plans to commit up to $10 billion through 2035 to help build the Asean Power Grid, as the Philippines hosts a high-level regional conference under its 2026 Asean chairship on improving cross-border connectivity.
Project studies are being initiated under the ADB’s Regional Connectivity Fund for Energy in Southeast Asia, the region’s first trust fund dedicated to preparing Asean Power Grid investments.
Launched in April with about $26 million from Australia, Canada, the European Union, Germany and the United Kingdom, the fund is designed to help move the region’s grid pipeline from feasibility studies to bankable, financed projects.
The ADB is also working with the Asean Secretariat, Asean Centre for Energy and the World Bank through the Asean Power Grid Financing Initiative to coordinate public and private financing for grid projects.
ADB president Masato Kanda highlighted the power-grid commitment Wednesday at the Asean High-Level Conference on Connectivity in Manila, where participants discussed shared bottlenecks to infrastructure connectivity, including tight budgets, too few bankable projects and financing that remains fragmented across borders.
Kanda urged governments to move faster from plans to financed projects, saying delays in building cross-border power, transport, digital and financial links were leaving Southeast Asia exposed to the next global shock.
The power-grid commitment is part of the ADB’s broader plan to mobilize up to $30 billion by 2030 for Asean priorities.