“ADB is getting more money where it is needed most: small businesses, lower-income families, and communities that struggle to access finance. By sharing risk with leading insurers, we can lend more through financial institutions, support more jobs and homes, and make our capital work harder for development,” said ADB President Masato Kanda, while talking in detail about the initiative.

ADB’s five-year agreement expands a credit insurance program that the global lender launched in 2022. The “Master Framework Program for Financial Institutions” will increase ADB’s capacity to provide longer-term financing through banks and other financial institutions for small businesses, microfinance, affordable housing; and other borrowers that struggle to obtain credit.

“ADB uses credit insurance to stretch its resources and direct more financing into markets where capital remains scarce. By sharing risk with private insurers, ADB can support more lending without requiring additional capital,” Kanda stated further.

Under the new arrangement, participating insurers will cover part of the loss if a financial institution fails to repay an ADB loan.

“The insurers will not make the loans themselves. Their coverage allows ADB to transfer some of the risk from its balance sheet, free capital for new loans, and manage its exposure across markets and borrowers,” Kanda remarked.

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A report published by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) projected that Thailand has the potential to increase the share of renewable energy from its original target of 30 percent to 37 percent by the end of 2036. However, the country will need to vastly explore and discover new ways to build a sustainable clean energy system. In fact, the report estimated that the energy demand in Thailand will increase by 78 percent by 2036 and GDP by 126 percent. In a close sync with the report’s view, the ASEAN Centre for Energy, an intergovernmental organisation representing ASEAN 10 member states, forecasted the country’s energy demand to increase by nearly 80 percent over the next two decades.

Renewable energy is anticipated to meet Thailand’s rising demand in the coming years. Daine Loh, an analyst for power & renewables at Fitch Solutions, explained that Thailand’s Power Development Plan (PDP) 2018-2037 seeks to source 35 percent of the energy-mix from renewable energy by 2037. “The country’s non-hydropower renewable energy has grown rapidly over the last five years, driven by the government’s implementation of a supportive regulatory environment which includes attractive FiTs, bidding programmes for renewables capacity and tax incentives,” he told International Finance.

Approved by the National Energy Policy Council, the PDP said the power production capacity will rise 67 percent from 46,090MW in 2017 to 77,211MW in 2037—a year which will see 53 percent of energy consumption from natural gas, 35 percent from renewable energy and 12 percent from coal. The IRENA report is convinced that developing a portfolio with a variety of renewable energy sources can help to achieve a higher capacity. “As of 2019, we estimated Thailand to have approximately 8.3GW of non-hydro renewables capacity which generated about 12.5 percent of total power mix,” Loh said.

The numbers show that Thailand is on the right track to realise its renewable energy ambitions. But what is more interesting is the fact that it has developed a dynamic model—Energy 4.0—which is pivotal “to support the country’s growth toward a low carbon economy using technology and innovation,” Loh defined.

Transformative potential of Energy 4.0
The Ministry of Energy developed Energy 4.0 to enhance energy supply, grid resilience and subsequently reduce carbon emissions. “Broadly, it will encompass the use of more renewable energy and boost energy efficiency through smart energy management, decentralisation and energy storage capabilities,” Loh added. In theory, “the model has the ability to iron out short-term output fluctuations and allow additional wind and solar capacity jeopardising grid stability on a grid level. That said, it will also enable households and businesses to optimise their grid feed-in by extension of balancing power supply or demand dynamics at a distributional level.”

Energy 4.0 comprises three specific sector policies such as Electricity 4.0, Fuel for Transportation 4.0 and Heat 4.0—with each specific sector policy aimed to “help Thailand to transition to a more sustainable, low-cost renewable energy for the future,” Pasamon Pechrasuwan, a senior consultant for Industrial, Asia Pacific at Frost & Sullivan, told International Finance.

Pechrasuwan comprehensively explained the targets of the three policies set to be achieved by 2036. The first policy Energy 4.0 is focused on energy efficiency in power generation to reduce construction of 10 new power plans, reduce natural gas dependency in electricity generation to below 50 percent and double the use of renewable energy.

The second policy Fuel for Transportation 4.0 is formulated to achieve lower energy consumption in the transportation sector for 45 percent from Business as Usual, increase the use of public transportation and have 1.2 million electric vehicles. “We believe that electric vehicles and vehicle-to-grid technologies will play an increasingly important role in power supply management, as it represents the largest addition of electricity storage capacity in a large number of countries over the coming decade,” Loh added. “It could be used as a demand response resource as EV owners charge during low electricity prices and feed some of this power back to the grid during peak demand.”

The third policy Heat 4.0 is directly related to increase in energy efficiency during heat generation, lower energy consumption in the industrial sector by 22 percent and overall boost heat production in renewables by 37 percent.

Again, Loh delved into the model’s core stating that it can support the “integration of intermittent wind and solar generation and adoption of distributed energy solutions due to better power demand or supply management.” That explains the transformative potential of Energy 4.0 which is imperative to Thailand’s efforts in becoming a low carbon economy and ensuring high yields from renewable energy as an alternative to fossil fuels.

Thailand’s active green bond market
Indeed, Thailand is setting an example for the rest of Southeast Asia with its powerful strategies that may well prove to be a driving force in its renewable energy transition.

The strength of its green bond market is pronounced with the issuance of certified climate bonds designed to finance and refinance green projects. An example of that is the country’s leading private power producer B.Grimm Power’s landmark issuance which seeks to increase the share of renewable energy generation in the company’s overall portfolio from 10 percent to 30 percent by 2021. The real promise of B Grimm Power’s green bond is that it will help Thailand to reduce carbon emissions by 20 percent by 2030.

Role played by ADB in green bond issuance
So to further support the issuance, Asian Development Bank has invested 5 billion baht in the company’s green bonds and the funds are designated for nine operating solar power plants with a capacity of 67.7MW, in addition to seven developing solar power plants.

“We have seen Asian Development Bank invest 5 billion baht in B.Grimm Power’s green bonds on top of a 235 million baht loan agreement earlier in 2018. Furthermore, the bank has invested 3 million baht in the maiden green bond issuance from Energy Absolute PCL last October which will support the company’s 260MW Hanuman wind project,” Loh said.

B.Grimm Power’s bonds comply with the International Capital Markets Association’s Green Bond Principles and Climate Bond Initiative standards. These bonds are issued in tranches with 5 year and 7 year tenors as part of the overall corporate bond issuance worth 15 billion baht.

Loh observed that the bank has invested more than $2 billion over the past decade to encourage innovations in the power sector, including the first few renewable plants and climate bonds. Asian Development Bank’s investments are in line with its new strategy 2030 which mandates that at least 75 percent of its committed operations must support renewable energy projects.

Further analysing Thailand’s efforts in renewable energy transition, Pechrasuwan is positive that the country is even harnessing blockchain technology in numerous ways although it is “too early to assess the blockchain potential of the whole country.”

Blockchain is well suited for use in renewable energy
Blockchain is backing the country’s progress in renewable energy as it “supports peer-to-peer electricity trading using distributed renewable sources such as rooftop solar and aggregates power demand or supply in the mini grid system,” Loh emphasised, pointing to its “ability to better manage these decentralised sources of power that will facilitate greater deployment and in turn encourage more renewable consumption typically used in DES which will boost the overall share of renewables generation.”

For example, Thailand’s multinational energy conglomerate PPT and Energy Web Foundation, a global non-profit organisation focused on accelerating blockchain in the energy sector, announced the development of a new renewable energy trading platform last September. The platform based on blockchain distributed ledger technology will simplify the purchasing process in the energy sector between buyers and sellers. In light of Thailand’s rising energy demand, the platform will match demand with supply, generate supplemental revenue for operational renewable energy assets and promote new investments in the sector.

In another example, a joint development by Sansiri and BCPG two years ago saw the world’s largest real-time blockchain-based, peer-to-peer electricity trading pilot project implemented on T77. The essence of this platform is its ability to establish a cross-industry collaboration on a deep level between the country’s real estate and renewable energy sectors.

Also, BCPG is working on another blockchain-powered renewable energy trading platform at Chiangmai University which will be much larger with 12MW electricity generation capacity from rooftop solar PV. The project is slated for completion this year and will demonstrate scalability of blockchain-powered renewable energy trading platforms to facilitate energy trading for larger systems.

It is worth noting that Power Ledger, the digital energy partner of BCPG, implemented both projects with its own developed blockchain of POWR tokens and Sparkz tokens. “As Power Ledger is using dual-token economics where POWR tokens are limited, publicly tradable, and required to access and use Power Ledger’s platform, while Sparkz tokens are unlimited, pegged to local fiat currency and only used within Power Ledger’s platform as tokens for energy trading,” Pechrasuwan said. “It is very interesting to see whether this approach could further enable renewable energy trading not just within projects of single market operators but also between projects of different market operators in the future.”

Thai government steps up efforts in renewable energy
In the big picture, the Thai government has established supportive regulatory frameworks for distributed renewables generation and has launched various initiatives to encourage its uptake. Pechrasuwan cited an example of how the rooftop solar PV industry is currently being driven using the private Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) scheme.

Thailand has progressed much in terms of its renewable energy generation capacity through PPA programmes and the private sector participation. These programmes were “incentivised by projects using per-kWh subsidies for electricity generated by renewable energy to be sold to the national grid under Enhanced Single Buyer framework,” Pechrasuwan said. The smart grid master plan which was reaffirmed in the PDP 2018-2037 had set out a list of research studies and strategies that will operate along three core pillars: power load response and management, electricity forecasting and microgrid systems and energy storage systems.

Interestingly, the government is driving renewable energy developments, especially in bio-waste under Energy for All policy. The Community Power Plants for Local Economy programme is the main focus to stimulate the local economy using distributed renewable energy generation, mainly from agricultural wastes.x

Last year, the Energy Regulatory Commission launched the ERC sandbox programme to “support research development activities of energy innovation,” Pechrasuwan said, analysing the five projects under this programme, which are new electricity market structure (peer-to-peer energy trading), new electricity tariff structure (net-metering and net billing), new technology (EV and energy storage), new electricity management and operation (microgrid) and new energy business (supply and load aggregator).” It appears that the first phase of the programme approved 34 projects of the 138 projects and many of those approved projects are using renewables.

These developments are certainly appealing. And it is safe to say that the progress might be the pathway to realise Thailand 4.0, a sophisticated model to “transform the economy into a value-based economy,” Pechrasuwan concluded.

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The 2018 ADB Sustainability Report, which was released yesterday to mark World Environment Day, documents ADB’s work to promote economic, social and environmental sustainability in its operations as well as its corporate activities and facilities in 2016 and 2017.

“The Sustainability Report demonstrates how ADB’s operations, human resources, and facilities management are aligned with and contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals,” said ADB Vice-President for Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development Mr Bambang Susantono. “Looking ahead, we must renew and ramp up our commitment to making ADB and its operations more sustainable. We must also continue to modernize our corporate facilities and promote diversity in our staff.”

“To show ADB’s commitment to lower its carbon footprint at its Manila headquarters and minimize its effect on the environment and the community, we are sourcing energy from solar and geothermal plants, reusing rainwater for irrigation and other purposes, operating a waste segregation area, and using a sewage treatment facility to treat wastewater,” said ADB Vice-President for Administration and Corporate Management, Ms Deborah Stokes. “Aside from these, we also continue to achieve and maintain international certifications to ensure our goal toward sustainability lasts into the future.”

In 2015 to 2017, the 3-year average for the number of ADB projects supporting environmental sustainability reached 58% of ADB’s project portfolio, exceeding its target of 55% by 2020. This amounts to over US$28bn, or 57% of ADB’s total commitments of close to $50bn in the same period. Furthermore, in 2016-2017, US$2.8bn worth of green bonds were issued to channel investor funds into low-carbon, climate-resilient development.

Climate finance from ADB’s own resources reached US$4.5bn in 2017, a 64% increase from 2015, putting the bank on track to meeting its US$6bn annual target by 2020. In addition, the High-Level Technology Fund was launched in April 2017 to promote advanced technologies and innovative solutions in project design and implementation.

At the same time, ADB has also demonstrated its commitment to environmental sustainability by improving its corporate footprint. Starting in 2016, carbon credits have been purchased to fully offset ADB headquarters’ green gas emissions, making it carbon neutral for the first time. Installation of low-flow and low-flush water fixtures at ADB headquarters also decreased potable water consumption by about nine percent. ADB received ISO 20121 certification for the sustainability and carbon neutrality of its 49th and 50th Annual Meetings.

Moreover, in 2016-2017, ADB exceeded its target in delivering intended gender equality results in its operations, continued to embed social and environmental safeguards in all of its projects, and continued to share relevant knowledge and innovative approaches to promoting sustainable development in the Asia and Pacific region.

ADB celebrated World Environment Day by highlighting the plastic pollution crisis in the region, in line with this year’s theme chosen by the United Nations Environment Programme, “Beat Plastic Pollution.” About 50% of all plastic used in the region is considered single use, and nearly a third of plastic packaging escapes waste collection systems, polluting the environment and entering the world’s oceans.

ADB invests in projects that directly and indirectly address waste management issues, including marine pollution and plastic waste. Investments include waste water treatment, watershed management, wetland rehabilitation, and coastal and marine resources management. At its headquarters, ADB’s food service providers stopped selling bottled water in 2013 and is encouraging staff to stop using plastic straws.

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President Ghani was joined by Ashok Bhargava, Director of Energy Division of ADB’s Central and West Asia Department; Samuel Tumiwa, ADB Country Director for Afghanistan; cabinet ministers; and members of parliament at the ceremony. The contracts, totaling US$80mn, are part of an overall US$415mn grant, which includes US$188.23mn from ADB’s Special Funds; US$225.77mn in cofinancing from the Afghanistan Infrastructure Trust Fund (AITF), supported by the Governments of Belgium, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States; and US$1mn from the People’s Republic of China Poverty Reduction and Regional Cooperation Fund.

“Access to efficient and reliable power supply can help Afghanistan attract higher levels of private investments to help boost economic growth and create employment opportunities in the country,” said Mr Tumiwa. “The contracts, which have been signed, reaffirms ADB’s long-standing commitment to support the Government of Afghanistan’s energy development priorities and enhancing regional connectivity.”

Afghanistan highly relies on energy imports from neighboring countries to meet its domestic demand. Despite significant progress since 2002, only about 32% of the population has access to grid-connected electricity, which increases the cost of doing business and is detrimental to the environment.

The contracts include construction of (i) new 220-kilovolt (kV) substation in Bamyan province and expansion of 220/20 kV Doshi substation (ii) 20,000 new household connections in Bamyan (iii) 180-kilometer 220-kV transmission line from Doshi to Bamyan, which will help expand the grid to at least 8 additional provinces.

Further investment under the same project will include the construction of a new 500-megawatt back-to-back converter station at Dashte Alwan in Baghlan to connect a new 500-kV interconnection line with Turkmenistan with another 500-kV line stretching to Kabul. The converter will allow Turkmen power into the Afghan grid under the 10-year power purchase and sales agreement signed in November 2015 between the two countries.

Once completed, nearly 150,000 people will be connected to the grid-connected electricity and, as a result, the economic opportunities and livelihoods of the people of Central Afghanistan will be improved.

ADB is Afghanistan’s largest development partner in the energy sector with cumulative grant assistance of nearly US$2.2bn, all of which is on budget with the government. ADB has helped deliver electricity to more than 5mn people in Afghanistan. Over the coming years, ADB will support the increase in the country’s electrification rate from 30% to 83% and lift the share of domestic generation from 20% to 67% by 2030. ADB will also play a major role in power transmission both regionally and domestically, and promote clean energy including solar power.

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The NSW consultation workshop, organised by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in collaboration with the Ministry of Economic Development, gathered government and private stakeholders to review the progress on preparatory work and discuss the next steps. Participants also shared knowledge and experience on the implementation of the NSW system.

ADB is supporting the Government of Maldives to establish a NSW. This is in line with the operational priorities for trade facilitation under the South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) program, which Maldives joined in 2014.

“The NSW project is important in improving the enabling environment on trade procedures, which are currently facing many operational inefficiencies,” said Mohamed Saeed, Minister of Economic Development, in his opening remarks. The Commissioner General of Customs, Ibrahim Shareef Mohamed, emphasised the need for a NSW in Maldives, in order to benefit traders and to attract foreign investors.

Ronald Butiong, Director of ADB’s South Asia Regional Cooperation and Operations Coordination Division, affirmed ADB’s commitment to fully support the implementation of the NSW project. “The project will greatly benefit not only the Government of Maldives but more importantly its people through a modern and effective customs administration, streamlined and transparent business regulations and procedures, and improved merchandise trade of the private sector including small and medium-sized enterprises,” he said.

The NSW will leverage information and communication technology to provide online access to carry out border control procedures. This will enable traders and other service providers to exchange electronic forms and documents, thereby eliminating the need for physical displacement and enabling Maldives to adopt a paperless cross-border trading environment. In addition, automated processing across stakeholder systems will be enabled by the exchange of harmonised data. The NSW environment will thus provide for a much more efficient set of standardized and transparent international trade procedures, enhanced border control, and more readily available data on trade flows.

Apart from the Ministry of Economic Development, the main agencies involved in the NSW implementation in Maldives are the Maldives Customs Service, Maldives Food and Drug Authority, Ministry of Defense and National Security, Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture, Maldives Monetary Authority, Maldives Airports Company Limited, and Maldives Ports Limited. The NSW project is expected to begin implementation in mid-2019.

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The loan was signed in an effort to foster the growth of renewable energy in several Southeast Asian Countries. The Bank’s financing will bolster the development of B.Grimm Power’s Distributed Power Project.

According to ADB’s press release, the funds are designated for the firm’s 114 MW of solar projects and 16 MW of wind power in Thailand and other ASEAN countries such as Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

Michael Barrow, Director General of ADB’s Private Sector Operations Department, said, “The development of renewable energy in Southeast Asia is critical to meet its energy needs and B.Grimm Power is at the forefront of the region’s fast growing alternative energy sector. ADB is proud to once again partner with B.Grimm Power as it continues its expansion strategy in ASEAN member countries.”

As part of B.Grimm Power’s initial public offering, the Bank  acquired a US$57.7mn equity stake in the company in 2017. By 2022, the total distributed power generation capacity is expected to increase to 2,500 megawatts (MW).

Being a subsidiary of 140-year old conglomerate B.Grimm Group, the company currently holds a total capacity  of 1,779 MW. In addition, it has also expanded its renewable energy operations to 15 solar power plants and two hydropower plants.

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Prime Minister of Samoa Tuilaepa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi gave a keynote address and led the ceremony in Apia, which included activities like ribbon cutting and switching the power plants on.

“The three hydropower plants were damaged during Cyclone Evan in 2012 and ADB and partners supported their rehabilitation under the project,” said Robert Jauncey, Regional Director of ADB’s Pacific Subregional Office. “Improved national energy security and sustainability will be some of the benefits of the project.”

“New Zealand has been involved in supporting renewable energy development and initiatives in Samoa for many years, and we are pleased to see Samoa get another step closer to its goal of 100% renewable energy generation capability with the commissioning of these three hydropower plants,” said David Nicholson, New Zealand High Commissioner to Samoa.

The Samoa Renewable Energy Development and Power Sector Rehabilitation Project supports the government’s drive to reduce the country’s reliance on imported fossil fuels for power generation by providing clean and reliable electricity. Samoa gets 60% of its energy from diesel generators. Fuel imports to power the country’s electrical grid cost about 10% of the country’s gross domestic product each year.

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Avaroa Cable Limited from the Cook Islands, SSCC from Samoa, Telecom Niue from Niue, and OPT from French Polynesia will jointly own and operate the Manatua cable system, which is estimated to cost $65 million. The Government of New Zealand, Agence Française de Développement, and the European Investment Bank will finance the project alongside ADB.

“Improved access to high-speed, affordable broadband internet in the Cook Islands will positively impact the tourism and public sectors as they are, by far, the biggest internet users,” said Emma Veve, Director in ADB’s Pacific Department. “The cable project will boost Cook Islands’ connectivity to the rest of the world and provide the potential for the use of information and communication technology (ICT) to better deliver government services.”

“Manatua cable will definitely result in opportunities that can be harnessed through improved telecommunications connectivity,” said Mark Brown, Minister of Telecommunications of the Cook Islands.  “We look forward to the implementation of this project and working in partnership with ADB in this regard.”

The project will deliver faster and better internet quality compared with the current satellite reliance, which will reduce costs for businesses, governments, and households. The project is expected to create new business opportunities and improve public service delivery through harnessing ICT.

Supporting inclusive growth and investment in ICT are key focus areas of ADB’s Pacific Approach which guides ADB’s operational focus in the region.

ADB has worked with the Cook Islands since 1976, approving 20 loans for $86.9 million, 3 grants for $12.3 million, and 36 technical assistance projects for $12.1 million.

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“Giving small businesses and entrepreneurs access to finance is one proven tool to improve livelihoods and reduce poverty,” said Sabine Spohn, Senior Investment Specialist in ADB’s Private Sector Operations Department. “ADB will continue to expand its support for those at the bottom of the pyramid by increasing the size and scope of the microfinance program.”

The microfinance program is implemented through a risk participation and guarantee structure. Under the program, ADB selects partner financial institutions that provide local currency loans to ADB-approved MFIs. ADB risk participates or partially guarantees the default risk of these MFIs, thereby catalyzing private sector participation and mobilizing additional funds for them.

Since 2010, ADB’s microfinance program has supported $622 million in new loans, and an additional $327 million in cofinancing. The program has worked with 27 MFIs and operates in India, Bangladesh, and Indonesia. Among the 3.49 million borrowers served by the program, more than 90% have been women and predominately in rural areas. Standard Chartered Bank and Citi as well as IFMR Capital, IndusInd Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and RBL Bank are backers of the program in the risk participation structure.

ADB’s additional financing will help the program expand into new markets in the region, such as Myanmar, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. The program will also expand its scope, allowing the program to guarantee or risk participate directly with MFIs or as part of a financial institution’s overall microfinance portfolio. The program will also be able to partially guarantee bonds and securitization transactions issued by MFIs, thereby enabling greater access by MFIs to capital markets and broadening diversification of funding sources. In addition, tenor on ADB guarantees will increase to up to 5 years. Combined, these changes will offer the program’s partners greater flexibility and encourage a broader range of financial institutions to participate in the program.

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The additional assistance was announced during an event held in Port Moresby commemorating the long-standing partnership of ADB and PNG, attended by ADB Papua New Guinea Country Director David Hill, government officials, private sector representatives, members of the media, and other development partners.

“The project is being rolled out in eight provinces and women and children are the main beneficiaries,” said Mr. Hill.

The additional funding will help expand the project’s scope by upgrading seven existing health facilities (including staff training) and enhancing the health information system through the development of an electronic National Health Information System, which has been piloted across five provinces—Western Highlands, Milne Bay, Bougainville, West New Britain, and Enga.

The entire project, which is also supported by the governments of Australia and Papua New Guinea as well as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries Fund for International Development, will help develop national health policies, facilitate sustainable partnerships between provincial governments and non-state actors, enhance people’s skills, upgrade health facilities, and promote healthcare in local communities.

The ADB 2017 Year in Review event highlights the achievements of ADB-financed operations in PNG that focus on transport infrastructure, maritime safety, civil aviation, climate resilience, health services, and access to finance. These projects include the Civil Aviation Development Investment Program to improve 21 national airports and provide safer and more secure air transport services.

Another major focus is the over $1 billion Sustainable Highlands Highway Investment Program, which ADB supported through a $680 million loan. The investment program responds to the government’s national development and transport strategies, which aimed to rehabilitate, upgrade, and sustainably maintain 430 kilometers of the Highlands Highway. It will also improve road safety, support the establishment of logistics platforms and services for agricultural production, as well as introduce transport sector reforms.

In PNG, the Private Sector Development Initiative (PSDI) has supported a range of reforms, including the passage of the Personal Property Security Act and the Personal Property Securities Register, a community service obligation policy, and the Consumer and Competition Framework Review.

PSDI is working with ADB’s 14 Pacific developing member countries to improve the enabling environment for business, and to support inclusive, private sector-led economic growth. It is cofinanced by the Government of Australia, the Government of New Zealand, and ADB.

ADB has worked with PNG since 1971 and is the country’s largest multilateral development partner. To respond to PNG’s development needs, ADB will increase its total financing for development projects from $743.7 million (2016-2018) to approximately $1.24 billion (2018-2020). Proposed transport projects will help drive inclusive economic growth, improve the delivery of basic services, increase regional connectivity, and build resilience to climate change. ADB also intends to intensify its partnerships with subnational provincial governments—which have emerged as important stakeholders—to implement infrastructure projects.

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