What is different today is not direction, but pace. As the ambition of the regional power grid demonstrates, Asean is now moving faster, and more visibly, from integration by policy to integration by projects.
Asean integration has never been short on ambition. Over the past two decades, progress has been made through trade agreements, regulatory alignment and cross-border initiatives that have steadily lowered barriers to commerce and investment and boosted competitiveness.
Initiatives such as the Asean Power Grid, which now has eight out of 18 planned interconnection projects in operation, contribute to the regional electricity transmission capacity of 2.8 gigawatts.
