ISLAMABAD: Central Asian countries have identified power investment needs of about $94 billion to 2023, according to an Asian Development Bank (ADB)-commissioned study presented at the Energy Investment Forum (EIF) on Monday.

Further, the financing gap that the private sector has to fill in the same period amounts to about $38bn, the study said.

The findings were presented at the first EIF of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC). In preparation for the forum, ADB commissioned a study to identify specific opportunities for private investment in Central Asian countries.

“Energy is a key component for achieving broad-based and sustainable economic development for not only the CAREC countries but the entire Asia and Pacific region,” ADB Vice President Wencai Zhang said in opening remarks. “In order to ensure a secure supply of energy, a substantial amount of investments will be needed over the next 20 to 30 years,” he said.

The forum was held to highlight investment opportunities in the CAREC region by bringing together key government officials, project developers/sponsors, project financiers, equipment manufacturers, and engineering, procurement and construction contractors.

More than 150 senior government officials and business leaders from 10 countries attended the forum. The event was organised by ADB and the Private Power Infrastructure Board of Pakistan (PPIB).

Participants shared experiences on successful investments in the CAREC countries, with selected case studies in CAREC member countries, including Pakistan.

They also discussed how development funding can be used to systematically address investment risks and encourage private-sector participation in energy projects.

The CAREC Programme is a partnership of 10 countries – Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan – supported by six multilateral institutions, working together to promote development through cooperation.

Georgia is set to be admitted as the 11th member. CAREC helps Central Asia and its neighbours realise their significant potential by promoting regional cooperation in four priority areas: transport, trade facilitation, energy and trade policy.

A 2009 study shows that to keep its current rate of economic growth, Asia will need $8.3 trillion in infrastructure investments. Specific to Central Asia, about $170bn is needed in energy, about $100bn in transport, about $80bn for telecommunications and about $25bn for water and sanitation.

The ADB vice president said there is a significant gap, even with the help of multilateral financial institutions such as ADB or bilateral agencies, governments will not be able to meet the financial needs. Therefore, the private sector has a key role to plan, he emphasised.

Speaking at the forum, Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Muhammad Asif said that Pakistan believes that regional economic cooperation is necessary for social and economic wellbeing.

Pakistan is a member of various regional cooperation programmes like CASA-1000, TAPI, import of electricity from Iran, China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and CAREC.

PPIB Managing Director Shah Jahan Mirza presented an overview of the Pakistan power sector.

He highlighted investment opportunities in the electricity sector, saying that hydro potential of 60,000 megawatts and over 185 billion tons of coal reserves mainly in the Thar area offer huge opportunities to investors.

CAREC conference today

Transport, energy, trade facilitation and trade policy will be the four priority sectors that will figure prominently at the 15th ministerial conference of CAREC today.

The Economic Affairs Division in collaboration with ADB will jointly host the two-day conference to be attended by delegates from Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Georgia as an observer.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will address the concluding session of the conference. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Asian Development Bank President Takehiko Nakao will jointly co-chair the conference.

Published in Dawn October 25th, 2016