The Asian Development Bank on Sunday launched an ambitious $70 billion regional investment roadmap to boost electricity linkages and digital infrastructure across Asia-Pacific by 2035, in a bid to improve resilience, reduce costs and expand access, PTI reported.This package combines two massive programs – the $50 billion Pan-Asian Energy Grid Initiative and the $20 billion Asia-Pacific Digital Superhighway – that aim to connect economies more deeply through energy systems and technology.Asian Development Bank President Masato Kanda said future growth in the region will depend heavily on access to reliable energy and digital connectivity.“These two initiatives build the systems the Asia-Pacific region needs to grow, compete and connect.
“By connecting energy and digital grids across borders, we can reduce costs, expand opportunities, and provide reliable energy and digital access to hundreds of millions of people,” Kanda said at the bank’s 59th annual meeting.The energy program will support cross-border electricity infrastructure such as transmission corridors, substations, storage facilities and grid modernization projects.The initiative aims to integrate nearly 20 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity, establish 22,000 kilometers of transmission lines and improve access to electricity for 200 million people by 2035, the Asian Development Bank said.
It is also expected to generate about 840,000 jobs while reducing emissions from the region’s energy sector by 15 percent.The Asian Development Bank plans to provide approximately half of the required financing directly, with the remainder coming through co-financing and other partnerships.The initiative builds on existing regional frameworks such as the ASEAN Power Grid and Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Energy Plans, but represents a broader shift towards integrated cross-border energy trade, the bank said.The second programme, the Asia-Pacific Digital Highway, will invest in fiber optic systems, satellite connectivity, data centres, policy reform and digital skills development.The plan aims to provide broadband access for the first time to 200 million people and improve service quality for another 450 million people by 2035, the Asian Development Bank said.The program is also expected to reduce communication costs in remote areas by about 40 percent and create nearly 4 million jobs.Of the planned expenditure of $20 billion, the ADB expects to contribute $15 billion and mobilize the remaining $5 billion through partnerships, including private sector participation.A new center for artificial intelligence innovation and development will also be established in Seoul with support from the South Korean government. The facility will promote responsible AI adoption and help train approximately 3 million people in digital and AI-related skills.Speaking about the conflict in the Middle East, Kanda said the economic fallout is already being felt acutely across Asia.He said: “Our region is one of the regions most affected by the conflict. The first blow fell in the energy field, but it did not stop there, as the price rise quickly spread to fuel, shipping, food and fertilisers.”“What we are witnessing is not only a security crisis, but a stress test of the global system. It serves as a reminder that countries remain highly vulnerable to shocks arising in a few strategic corridors.
It reveals the cost of over-reliance, and accelerates the shift from pure efficiency to flexibility.Kanda said the ADB had already announced a support package on March 23 to help developing member countries deal with the economic impacts of the Middle East crisis.Founded in 1966, the Asian Development Bank has 69 member economies, including 50 from Asia and the Pacific, and focuses on sustainable and inclusive development.