USAID, ADB to mobilize $7-B investment for energy projects in Asia

MANILA, Philippines — The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) will be mobilizing $7-billion worth of investment for energy projects in Asia under an agreement between the US government and the finance institution.

In a statement released by the US Embassy in Manila, the US government and the ADB launched a partnership, which aims to promote energy efficiency, energy sector reform, and good governance of Asia’s energy sector.

USAID Asia Bureau Acting Assistant Administrator Gloria Steele and ADB Strategy, Policy, and Review Department Director General Tomoyuki Kimura signed the partnership agreement during the Asia Clean Energy Forum in Manila on Tuesday.

Besides mobilizing $7 billion of investment for energy projects, the USAID and the ADB will partner up to boost the capacity of deployed energy systems by six gigawatts, and increase regional energy trade by 10 percent over the next five years.

According to the embassy, this latest partnership follows decades of development collaboration between the US government and the ADB.

The said collaboration is also part of the Asia Enhancing Development and Growth through Energy (Asia EDGE), which the embassy noted is a key initiative contributing to the US government’s effort to grow sustainable and secure energy markets throughout the Indo-Pacific region.

Asia EDGE aims to strengthen energy security, increase energy diversification and trade as well as expand energy access across the region by drawing on the expertise and resources of the US government, the private sector and international financial institutions, the embassy added. (Editor: Jonathan P. Vicente)