On 21 May 2026, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) unveiled a 10 year, USD 70 billion regional infrastructure programme called “ConnectAsia 2036”. The programme has two pillars: (1) a Pan Asia Power Grid (PAPG) that will interconnect the electricity systems of 18 Asian countries, and (2) an Asia Digital Highway (ADH) consisting of submarine and terrestrial fibre optic networks.

Pan Asia Power Grid: The PAPG is designed to share renewable energy across borders – hydropower from the Mekong and Himalayan regions, solar from tropical areas, and wind from coastal zones. ADB estimates that cross border electricity trade currently accounts for only 3% of Asia’s total generation; the goal is to raise that to 25% by 2036. The first phase (2026 2030) focuses on five transmission “corridors”: (i) Lao PDR–Cambodia–Viet Nam (500 kV line, 1,200 km), (ii) Thailand–Malaysia–Singapore (subsea HVDC, 400 km), (iii) Bangladesh–West Bengal (India) (400 kV interconnector), (iv) Mongolia–China (allowing Mongolia to export wind power), (v) the ASEAN Power Grid’s key missing links.

ADB will use a blend of concessional loans, guarantees and equity to de risk cross border transmission projects, which are commercially challenging due to multiple regulatory jurisdictions. The programme also includes a “grid code harmonisation” initiative to align technical standards, dispatch protocols and tariff settlement mechanisms.

Asia Digital Highway: The ADH will lay 50,000 km of new fibre optic cables, targeting rural and remote areas where connectivity is poor. The submarine segment will connect major coastal cities from Banda Aceh (Indonesia) to Darwin (Australia); the terrestrial segment will run along existing transport corridors in Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia. The goal is to bring high speed internet to 200 million people who currently lack access. The Digital Highway also includes an “energy digital twin” system – a real time monitoring platform for the Pan Asia Power Grid that uses AI to forecast renewable output and manage flows.

ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa said: “Energy and digital connectivity are the super highways of the 21st century. ConnectAsia 2036 is the largest single infrastructure initiative ADB has ever undertaken.” Critics question whether the complex political coordination required for cross border power trade is realistic within a decade. ADB responds that it has already secured preliminary agreements from 12 member countries, with implementing protocols to be signed by 2027.