CAREC program sets new investment priorities as cumulative funding tops $60 billion

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CAREC investment priorities $60B

Highlights

CAREC's cumulative investment reached $60.2 billion as of August 2026, including $19.9 billion from ADB, with future priorities in trade, border, and digital infrastructure.
ADB plans to provide over $7.5 billion in financing and catalyze $3 billion in private sector funds through 2030 to drive new economic corridors.
Recently approved BUILD Facility offers up to $400 million for border modernization, while CAREC's energy sector pipeline is set to reach about $1.5 billion by 2030.

Ulaanbaatar meeting sets expansion agenda

As reported by the Asian Development Bank, the next phase of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Program focuses on making it easier for member countries to trade with one another and attract more investment through better border crossings, stronger electricity links and expanded digital networks.

ADB President Masato Kanda says cooperation requires countries to entrust part of their future to one another, adding that CAREC members have spent 25 years building mutual confidence. Trade among CAREC countries accounts for about 5% of their total trade last year, highlighting significant room for further business growth within the region.

To support that expansion, ADB is advancing a new generation of economic corridors combining transport, energy, digital connectivity, trade, human capital and urban development. The bank plans to provide more than $7.5 billion in financing through 2030 and aims to catalyze about $3 billion in private sector financing.

Transport, border and energy projects drive regional impact

CAREC's cumulative investment reaches $60.2 billion as of August 2026, including $19.9 billion from ADB. Projects backed under the program have improved more than 20,000 kilometers of roads and railways, helping to cut travel times and reduce trade costs across the region.

ADB has already committed about $3 billion since the beginning of 2025, roughly 30% of the indicative $10 billion financing envelope through 2030 announced at last year's ministerial conference. That funding covers projects in Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

The recently approved Border Upgrades for Integration, Logistics and Development, or BUILD, Facility provides up to $400 million to modernize border crossings, while proposed negotiations on the CAREC Trade and Investment Facilitation Partnership are intended to create more predictable trade and investment rules. In the energy sector, CAREC has a project pipeline expected to reach about $1.5 billion by 2030, and ADB is also exploring a proposed power link across the Caspian Sea involving Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to expand trade in clean electricity.

In our earlier article on tightening financing conditions for emerging markets, we explained how rising U.S. Treasury yields, persistent inflation risks and geopolitical uncertainty were making external funding harder to secure. We also noted that the pressure is uneven across countries depending on refinancing needs, policy settings and the depth of local capital markets, increasing volatility and borrowing costs for the most exposed borrowers.

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