KUALA LUMPUR: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank will jointly launch the ASEAN Power Grid (APG) Finance Facility Framework at the ASEAN Summit with Dialogue Partners in late October, a major step towards accelerating regional energy integration.
ASEAN Deputy Secretary-General for ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Satvinder Singh said the facility is to support the development and deployment of cross-border energy infrastructure under the APG initiative.
“There is going to be a major announcement on their APG Finance Facility Framework, probably in October when the major summit takes place,” he said, referring to the 47th ASEAN Summit scheduled in October.
“In that framework, they are going to be addressing the ability to come in, in terms of more funding on the table for member states to deploy,” he told reporters during the pre-event briefing on the AEC Strategic Plan 2026-2030 on Friday.
In addition to financing, Satvinder said the framework will also offer capacity-building support, including grants, free feasibility studies, and financing facilities.
It will also feature improved loan terms such as moratoriums for deserving projects and protection against political uncertainties aiming to accelerate cross-border electricity projects under the APG, many of which have struggled to progress due to financing and investment risks.
“So, I think this is positive momentum that you are going to hear about in this year’s chairmanship under Malaysia,” he said.
Satvinder also highlighted that the scope of the APG has significantly expanded beyond the original 18 land-based connector projects.
It now includes subsea transmission lines as well as national grid upgrades to support the integration of renewable energy and improve cross-border interoperability aimed to enable smoother energy flows between countries and strengthen the region’s energy resilience, he added. The APG, introduced in 1997, is a region-wide initiative to interconnect electricity infrastructure among the bloc’s 10 member countries, with the goal of achieving fully integrated grid operation by 2045.
According to ASEAN Secretary-General Dr Kao Kim Hourn, the APG vision requires an estimated investment of US$764 billion (US$1 = RM4.23) for power generation and transmission infrastructure.
Last month, ADB president Masato Kanda said the bank can readily commit US$10 billion towards the APG to expedite cross-border connections, national grid projects, and renewable energy initiatives that will facilitate power trade.
It was reported that ADB has programmed US$27 billion in financing over the next three years to support ASEAN members’ development priorities, including boosting economic growth and competitiveness, enhancing human capital, and strengthening resilience.
Meanwhile, according to the ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE), the World Bank has approved US$5 million in technical assistance funding to support the APG on September last year.
