The Singapore government and the World Bank Group have launched a three-year partnership to strengthen the regulatory, institutional and financing environment for the ASEAN Power Grid (APG).
The partnership, which aims to address gaps in project implementation and improve its bankability, will draw on the World Bank Group’s technical expertise and experience in infrastructure financing, energy markets, and regional power trade.
It complements the institution’s broader support of the APG through technical assistance, financing, and private sector engagement.
The APG is a region-wide effort to connect the electricity networks of countries in Southeast Asia to enable cross-border electricity trade.
In a joint statement, Conrad Chia, Director (Energy Partnerships) at Singapore’s Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry, said: “We recognise that there is deep interest among the financing community to participate in the ASEAN Power Grid, but unlocking this interest requires regulatory and other bankability hurdles to be satisfactorily addressed.”
Kristina Svensson, Singapore Regional Hub Manager, World Bank, said: “Realising the ASEAN Power Grid will require sustained regional collaboration, practical solutions, private sector investment, and strong institutional capacity.”
There has been a renewed push at the regional level for the APG, particularly as energy security and independence concerns rise amid the Gulf crisis.
The APG needs some $800 billion in generation and transmission investments by 2045, according to World Bank estimates.
The ASEAN Centre for Energy notes that eight of 18 identified interconnection projects are currently operational, providing about 2.8 GW of grid-to-grid capacity.
As of 2024, the APG carried 7,700 MW of transmission capacity, with pledges to expand that to 17,550 MW.
