ASEAN Welcomes ADB's Proposal to Form a Special Fund of IDR 512 Trillion

JAKARTA - The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) welcomes the proposal of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to establish a special facility for ASEAN worth 30 billion US dollars (Rp512.6 trillion) in 2026-2030.

According to a joint statement from the 13th ASEAN Finance Ministers' and Central Bank Governors' Meeting (13th AFMGM), Saturday, the facility was established with the aim of supporting the implementation of the ASEAN Sectoral Financial Plan 2026-2030 and the ASEAN Community Vision (ACV) 2045 "ASEAN Resilient, Innovative, Dynamic, and People-Centered".

In addition to supporting the ASEAN Community Vision 2045, the facility will also be used to build a prosperous, inclusive and sustainable ASEAN, with a focus on sustainability, digital transformation and regional resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges, pandemics and disasters.

"We underline that access to these facilities will be led by member countries and be in line with the respective national development plans of member countries, the framework for debt sustainability, and public financial management systems, and will avoid the creation of undue debt vulnerabilities," the statement quoted as saying. reported by ANTARA, Saturday, August 11.

In addition, the statement said the ASEAN Infrastructure Fund (AIF) will mobilize more resources to meet the region's infrastructure development needs through strong lending channels in 2026-2030, covering 30 regional projects worth 19.4 billion US dollars (Rp331.5 trillion).

"We also welcome the launch of the Regional Connectivity Fund (RCF) for Energy to support the preparation of the ASEAN Power Grid (APG) project and the involvement of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in further increasing the visibility of the AIF and partnerships with donors and other multilateral development banks," the statement said.

On April 7, 2026, ADB launched the RCF for Energy in Southeast Asia to finance the preparation of important project works for cross-border energy and transmission infrastructure within ASEAN to achieve full operation of the ASEAN Power Grid by 2045.

RCF will accelerate project preparation by providing technical assistance and project readiness financing grants to support energy infrastructure projects that include feasibility studies, engineering design, financial structuring, and security assessments.

The funds managed by ADB will also finance activities related to policy advice, regulatory improvements, capacity building, and knowledge sharing to improve the environment that supports the ASEAN Power Grid.

By April 2025, ADB has committed up to 10 billion US dollars (Rp170.8 trillion) over the next 10 years for the ASEAN Power Grid and related investments to accelerate cross-border power connections, national grid projects, and renewable energy initiatives that will facilitate energy trade.