Asian Development Bank Plans $70 Billion in Energy and Digital Infrastructure Financing for Asia-Pacific Through 2035

The Asian Development Bank announced a $70 billion plan for new energy and digital infrastructure in Asia and the Pacific. The program aims to fund projects by 2035, including efforts to connect national power grids and build a regional digital network. Masato Kanda, president of the Asian Development Bank, said energy and digital access will define the region's future.

That connectivity will build the systems Asia and the Pacific need to grow, compete, and connect, Kanda added. ADB President Masato Kanda stated that linking power grids and digital networks could lower costs and improve access to energy and digital services. Industry experts expect Southeast Asia to benefit from the ADB plan.

Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines are expected to receive the largest shares of funding, reflecting their population size, infrastructure gaps, and project pipelines. The ADB typically leans toward developing member countries based on growth needs, project readiness and mandate.

China has largely moved away from ADB financing. India still receives a fair amount of funding from ADB, while Japan is a major funder of the ADB. Malaysia has the biggest data center project pipeline in Southeast Asia, accounting for about 60% of all proposed projects in the region.

Malaysia and Thailand are expected to lead data-center load demand in Southeast Asia by 2035. While Malaysia and Thailand could also benefit as regional hubs for energy and data infrastructure, the relative marginal impact of the capital may be somewhat lower due to their more developed base. ADB aims to integrate nearly 20 gigawatts of renewable energy across borders by 2035.

It also aims to link 22,000 circuit-kilometers of transmission lines by 2035. Markets such as Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia have abundant hydropower and fast-expanding solar and wind but lack cross-border capacity to move clean power to the biggest demand centers. A solar power plant operates in Vietnam's Tay Ninh Province.

Singapore's central bank is backing bio-energy and solar projects in Southeast Asia via its Green Investments Partnership. com reported that ADB funding provides an opportunity to build interoperable transmission systems that allow clean power to flow across borders, improving reliability and lowering costs.

The plan positions Southeast Asia center stage in the broader Asia-Pacific connectivity push.

Experts noted that larger economies such as China, India and Japan already have more established domestic capital markets, deeper infrastructure financing channels and greater fiscal capacity to fund large-scale projects internally.