The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors has approved the Regional Electricity Market Interconnectivity and Trade (REMIT) Program, a 10-year initiative designed to enhance energy connectivity across Central Asia. The program will be implemented in three phases and aims to establish the region’s first-ever regional electricity market, expand electricity trade, increase transmission capacity, and support large-scale integration of renewable energy.

In the first phase, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and the Central Asian Countries’ Coordinating Dispatch Center (CDC) Energia will receive grants and concessional financing totaling $143.2 million. This includes $140 million from the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) and $3.2 million in grants from the Central Asia Water and Energy Program (CAWEP) to support the implementation of their respective activities.

Electricity demand in Central Asia is rising rapidly and is expected to triple by 2050 under current trends. Growing populations, expanding industries, and larger cities are driving an urgent need for reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy. Despite this potential, electricity trade in the region remains limited, meeting only about 3 percent of total electricity demand. Similarly, renewable energy contributes just 4 percent to power generation, despite the region’s significant and complementary clean energy resources that remain largely untapped.

The REMIT Program aims to harness these complementary assets: hydropower in the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan, thermal power in Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, and the growing solar and wind potential across the region. Over the next decade, the program seeks to increase electricity trade to at least 15,000 GWh annually, enough to meet the needs of millions of people, while more than tripling transmission capacity to 16 GW and enabling up to 9 GW of clean energy resources. Strengthening regional integration is expected to create a more balanced and resilient power system, reduce outages, and lower energy costs for households and businesses.

“The REMIT Program supports Central Asian countries’ ambition to deepen energy cooperation and create a regional electricity market. This will enable more efficient use of energy resources, facilitate cross-border deployment of clean energy, improve access to and reliability of electricity, and support jobs,” said Najy Benhassine, World Bank Regional Director for Central Asia. “By 2050, stronger electricity connectivity and trade could generate up to $15 billion in economic benefits for the region.”

The REMIT Program has total indicative financing of $1.018 billion across three phases. These funds will support the design and operationalization of the regional energy market, strengthen transmission capacity, introduce digital systems to improve grid reliability, and enhance regional institutions and coordination. Investments will also create direct construction jobs as well as skilled roles for operating the regional electricity market.

“The launch of the Central Asian regional electricity market, supported by a strengthened grid, will advance energy security, enable large-scale renewable integration, and attract private investment. The first phase alone is expected to enable about 900 MW of new clean energy capacity, leveraging $700 million in private investments,” said Charles Cormier, World Bank Regional Infrastructure Director for Europe and Central Asia.

Future phases of the program will expand the market platform, further strengthen and digitalize regional transmission networks, and reinforce regional institutions. CDC Energia will oversee the coordination of power exchanges and implement market and institutional activities, while national transmission companies will handle grid investments. A Regional Steering Committee, composed of energy ministries and implementing agencies, will monitor and guide overall program implementation.