Pakistan, which continues to wrestle with the unusual paradox of holding surplus power generation capacity while simultaneously enduring persistent electricity shortages for consumers, may stand to benefit from a $70 billion artificial intelligence-driven cross-border electricity and digital infrastructure initiative announced by the Asian Development Bank at its annual meeting in Samarkand. The initiative, unveiled during the inaugural session of the May 3 to 6 gathering, is designed to forge a more connected and technologically advanced Asia by linking national power grids, expanding cross-border electricity trade, and improving broadband access through AI-driven smart infrastructure across the Asia and Pacific region.
The plan is structured around two major components. The first is the $50 billion Pan-Asia Power Grid Initiative, which will see the Asian Development Bank collaborate with governments, utilities, the private sector, and development partners to mobilize funds by 2035 for cross-border power infrastructure capable of unlocking renewable energy at scale. The initiative will concentrate on transmission and grid integration, covering cross-border lines, substations, energy storage, and grid digitalization, as well as power generation projects directly tied to electricity trade such as renewable energy export facilities, regional renewable hubs, and hybrid generation-storage plants. By 2035, the project aims to integrate approximately 20 gigawatts of renewable energy across borders, connect 22,000 circuit-kilometres of transmission lines, improve energy access for 200 million people, generate 840,000 jobs, and reduce regional power sector emissions by 15 percent. The second component is the $20 billion Asia-Pacific Digital Highway, designed to build digital corridors, data infrastructure, and artificial intelligence-ready economies across the region, with investments focused on terrestrial and subsea fiber networks, satellite links, regional data centers, and skill-building programs for digital and AI readiness. A new Centre for AI Innovation and Development is to be established in Seoul, backed by a $20 million contribution from the South Korean government, with a target of training approximately 3 million people in digital and AI-related skills by 2035.
For Pakistan, the potential relevance of the Pan-Asia Power Grid Initiative is considerable. The country’s energy situation is defined by a stark internal contradiction: daytime demand averages between 9,000 and 10,000 megawatts, partly due to significant penetration of private solar systems, but peak demand can surge beyond 29,000 megawatts, straining a grid with a connected generation capacity exceeding 36,000 megawatts. When off-grid, hybrid, and net-metered solar systems are included, total installed capacity climbs beyond 58,000 megawatts, yet consumers continue to experience prolonged electricity loadshedding due to fuel shortages and transmission constraints. A government official speaking to Dawn described regional cooperation facilitated by a multilateral lender and synchronized through AI-driven smart infrastructure as a potential win-win solution for all parties, while cautioning that the initiative had only just been announced and would require detailed examination on technical, financial, and diplomatic grounds before any definitive conclusions could be drawn. Asian Development Bank President Masato Kanda framed the dual initiative as the systems Asia and the Pacific need to grow, compete, and connect, arguing that linking power grids and digital networks across borders can lower costs, expand opportunity, and bring reliable power and digital access to hundreds of millions of people across the region.
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