QAZAQ GREEN.  The World Bank, together with development partners, will direct around $1 billion toward energy system integration in Central Asia under the regional programme REMIT (Regional Energy Market Integration and Trade), said Dmitriy Petrin, Regional Projects Coordinator at the World Bank's Central Asia Regional Office and Head of the CAWEP programme, speaking at on the sidelines of the CACCC 2026  (Central Asia Climate Change Conference), which is being held this year as part of the RES 2026 in Astana.

REMIT is designed to deepen energy integration and expand cross-border electricity supplies across the region, and is set to become one of the defining initiatives of Central Asia's energy agenda in the years ahead.

Total financing mobilisable under the programme, including development partners, stands at around $1 billion, while investment commitments agreed with participating countries reach approximately $2 billion, Petrenko said.

"The goal is to double the volume of electricity trade — from around 9 TWh per year to 15 TWh per year," he noted.

The first phase of REMIT covers Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, including a regional component, with other countries expected to join in subsequent phases.

Petrin said the build-out of cross-border energy infrastructure would substantially increase grid transmission capacity. "We expect to improve energy transfer capabilities by roughly three times," he said.

A key outcome of the programme will be enabling large-scale renewable energy integration. "These are the conditions needed to bring around 9 GW of solar and wind generation into Central Asia's unified energy system," the World Bank representative said.

He also highlighted the broader economic case for regional energy cooperation. "Expanded electricity trade alone could deliver at least $15 billion in economic benefit, with a further $4.5 billion per year from improved regional cooperation in the water sector," Petrin said.

The programme also signals a shift in how the World Bank approaches project delivery. "We are moving away from standalone projects in individual countries toward multi-phase, longer-term, and more substantial programmes," he said.

Among the key challenges, Petrin pointed to weak regional coordination and a shortage of quality data. "Coordination mechanisms at the regional level are fairly weak. There are serious problems with data availability — this prevents us from building the kind of analytics that decision-makers actually need," he said.

Stronger regional institutions, he stressed, are essential to making progress. "None of this is possible without building capable and effective regional structures," the World Bank representative said.

Cross-border electricity trade in Central Asia currently stands at just 3% of total demand. REMIT aims to establish a competitive regional market, modernise and digitalise grid infrastructure, and attract investment in new renewable capacity. Experts estimate that the economic gains from integration could reach $15–25 billion by 2050, alongside lower electricity costs and reduced emissions. Country participation in the market will be voluntary, with each nation retaining control over its national energy infrastructure.

Ardak Januzakova