BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 3. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is prioritizing investments in cleaner and more resilient energy systems across Central Asia, aiming to balance decarbonization, energy security, and affordability, Leah Gutierrez, Director General of the bank’s Central and West Asia Department, told Trend in an exclusive interview.
"Our work in Central Asia is to help countries have energy supply that is reliable and affordable while meeting their climate ambitions," Gutierrez said. She highlighted ADB’s focus on supporting a gradual but steady shift toward cleaner power systems, including expanded renewable energy, modernized transmission networks, and improvements in traditionally hard-to-decarbonize sectors such as district heating.
In Kazakhstan, for instance, ADB in 2022 supported the preparation of a new heating law and tariff framework designed to create a pathway for more efficient and lower-emission heat supply. In Uzbekistan, the bank is assisting authorities with upgrading Tashkent’s district-heating system by improving digital control, reducing losses, and preparing for future integration of cleaner heat technologies. Earlier this year, ADB approved a $1.1 million technical assistance program to help Azerbaijan launch its own heating-sector decarbonization agenda.
"These efforts are part of a wider regional approach that includes large-scale support for renewables, power-sector modernization, and cross-border energy cooperation," Gutierrez noted. "By broadening the energy mix, strengthening grids, and reducing technical and financial vulnerabilities, our operations contribute to greater energy security while helping countries integrate more clean energy".
ADB also continues to work with governments to maintain affordable and financially sustainable energy services, including efficiency improvements, better utility performance, and socially responsible tariff reforms. "Taken together, these priorities aim to support a transition that is low-carbon, resilient, and affordable for households and economies across Central Asia," she added.
ADB advances CAREC corridor upgrades to strengthen regional trade links
The bank is advancing a broad range of transport and logistics projects across Central Asia and the wider Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) region, aiming to strengthen regional connectivity and facilitate trade, Leah Gutierrez said.
"ADB implements a wide range of hard and soft infrastructure projects that serve connectivity in Central Asia and the broader CAREC region," Gutierrez said. "These include the construction and rehabilitation of roads and railways, as well as upgrades of transport systems, such as the digitalization of railways".
Between June 2024 and September 2025, the bank approved 10 CAREC transport projects. These include two railway projects in Azerbaijan, road and border-crossing upgrades in the Kyrgyz Republic, multiple road and rail projects in Kazakhstan, a green corridor pilot in Tajikistan, and a road project in Uzbekistan under CAREC Corridor 2.
"This year, we aim to mobilize over $1 billion for priority projects that support digital solutions in the railway sector, upgrading of border-crossing points, and the construction and modernization of highway sections along CAREC Corridors 2, 3, and 6," Gutierrez noted. "These efforts will strengthen connectivity between Central Asia, Europe, and East and South Asia".
ADB is developing a regional financing facility, Borders Upgrades for Integration, Logistics, and Development (BUILD), to accelerate border-crossing upgrades. The bank also supports private investment projects for logistics hubs and sea or dry ports, and develops systems for customs transit, including the CAREC Advanced Transit System and Information Common Exchange.
Gutierrez emphasized the importance of CAREC’s institutional framework for coordination. "The program has a full-fledged institutional infrastructure, from the annual Ministerial Conference to sector coordination committees and sub-sector working groups. Coordinated strategic documents cover transport, trade, and digital development. All key development partners, including the World Bank, EBRD, AIIB, and Islamic Development Bank, participate in CAREC, enabling co-financing and joint planning of complex regional projects".
Examples include the Kyzylorda-Zhezkazgan road co-financed by ADB and EBRD, and the Zhezkazgan-Karaganda road co-financed by the World Bank and AIIB, which provide access for shippers across Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and other Central Asian economies.
"CAREC’s development partners accelerate project preparation by combining technical assistance, feasibility studies, and institutional support to make complex regional projects bankable," Gutierrez said. The Caspian Green Energy Corridor, which plans a high-voltage submarine cable connecting Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan, illustrates this approach. "ADB, AIIB, and the Multilateral Cooperation Center for Development Finance are jointly preparing technical, economic, financial, and environmental assessments. This coordinated effort reduces preparation time and mitigates risks for large-scale, cross-border investments, paving the way for renewable energy exports from Central Asia to Europe".
"ADB is now preparing a dedicated development approach for CAREC Corridor 2 to strengthen coordination with governments and development partners. The strategy will prioritize lower-cost and high-impact activities, such as border-crossing point rehabilitation, digitalization of trade, and development of logistical hubs, while also laying the groundwork for longer-term transport upgrades," Gutierrez said.
She added that ADB is also taking part in the European Commission’s Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor Coordination Platform to support alignment of regional initiatives.
ADB increases use of partial credit guarantees to attract private investment
The bank is also increasing the use of partial credit guarantees to mobilize private capital for infrastructure across Central and West Asia as governments in the region continue to face payment-risk constraints in public-private partnership projects.
Gutierrez said that payment risk on government and state-owned counterparties continues to be an important factor affecting efficient mobilization of private sector capital in the region.
"ADB’s partial credit guarantees (PCGs), which allow lenders to transfer risks they cannot absorb to ADB, have become one of the most effective financial instruments for catalyzing investment in the bank’s developing member countries," Gutierrez noted.
One of the strongest examples, she said, is Uzbekistan’s renewables PPP program, where ADB deployed PCGs to backstop government payment obligations. According to Gutierrez, the guarantees encouraged the participation of major, globally recognized sponsors in bidding for the first independent power producer project and helped secure the lowest electricity tariffs in the entire subregion.
ADB has also used PCGs in Azerbaijan and Pakistan to support private capital mobilisation and is now promoting wider adoption across Central and West Asia, she added.
Gutierrez said a lack of well-prepared, bankable projects remains a major obstacle for drawing private investment into infrastructure and development initiatives. To address this, ADB is expanding capacity-building efforts for government officials, agencies and decision-makers across the subregion.
Transformative regional energy and transport projects
Speaking about ADB's plans over the next several years, she noted that there are plans to intensify efforts to improve transport connectivity and expand clean energy in Central Asia, with a focus on transforming key trade routes and supporting the region’s low-carbon transition.
In transport, Gutierrez said ADB will prioritize connectivity, sustainability, and resilience across the CAREC multimodal corridors through projects in roads, railways, aviation, smart mobility, and waterborne transport. She highlighted Corridor 2, which largely overlaps with the Middle Corridor, as a key area for upgrades and digitalization, aiming to transform it into a fully functional economic corridor.
Progress will be tracked through Corridor Performance Measurement and Monitoring and other assessments. A new financing facility for border crossing improvements, known as BUILD, will help governments "remove bottlenecks and smoothen cross-border transport and trade," Gutierrez said. She added that dedicated working groups, including newly established Road and Smart Mobility groups, along with annual sector meetings, will ensure continuous evaluation and engagement with stakeholders.
On energy, Gutierrez said ADB’s priorities over the next three to five years will include expanding renewable generation, modernizing transmission and distribution infrastructure, and enhancing regional power connectivity to support countries’ low-carbon goals.
"ADB will also work with partners on transformative regional projects such as Rogun in Tajikistan and Kambarata-1 in the Kyrgyz Republic," she said. "These projects have the potential to strengthen energy security, provide substantial clean hydropower, and expand electricity trade across the region".
In parallel, ADB will continue supporting cross-border initiatives like the Caspian Green Energy Corridor, led by Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan, which could be expanded to involve other regional countries in both generation and transit. Progress will be monitored through indicators including increased renewable-energy capacity, improved grid reliability and flexibility, reduced losses, and the establishment of regional platforms and corridors for clean power exchange across the CAREC region and beyond, Leah Gutierrez concluded.