Good morning — here’s what matters across ASEAN infrastructure today.
MUST KNOW
Visayas power shortage returns to the foreground
The Philippines’ Visayas grid was placed on red alert from 5pm to 8pm last Friday, with available capacity estimated at 2,307MW against projected peak demand of about 2,402MW. Several coal units were unavailable and imports from Mindanao were limited; yellow alerts covered further periods that day.
Why it matters: The deficit appeared before allowing for normal operating reserves. For industrial loads, new generation and data-centre proponents, dependable supply—not headline capacity—is the immediate underwriting issue. The next test is the restoration of unavailable units and whether inter-island imports can provide a credible contingency buffer.
Source: Philippine News Agency.
Thailand prepares a stricter data-centre investment screen
Thailand’s Board of Investment says it will review its data-centre investment-promotion framework following the Cabinet’s approval in August of regulations establishing a national data-centre policy committee. The BOI said the revised approach will assess projects more closely on economic benefit, energy and water use, environmental effects and community impacts.
Why it matters: Thailand is moving from attracting capacity to selecting for value and deliverability. That makes power, water, efficiency and local economic contribution more central to incentive eligibility—not merely site selection and capital spend. The market will watch for the final criteria and their treatment of projects already in the queue.
Source: Thailand Board of Investment.
DEALS & PROJECTS
Vietnam’s Thai Binh LNG project adds technical adviser
AFRY has been appointed international technical adviser to the 1.5GW Thai Binh LNG-to-power project in Hung Yen, northern Vietnam. Its scope covers the proposed floating LNG receiving infrastructure, subsea gas pipeline, marine facilities and associated combined-cycle plant.
Why it matters: The appointment advances the project’s technical-development work across the full LNG-to-power chain rather than just the generating plant. It does not, by itself, establish financial close or construction readiness. The remaining tests are the power-sales, LNG-supply, permitting, financing and EPC packages that turn this engineering scope into a bankable project.
Source: AFRY.
Meralco begins a more detailed Philippine SMR study
Meralco and Meralco PowerGen have appointed Sargent & Lundy and AMH Philippines to undertake a feasibility study for potential small modular reactors in the Philippines. The US$2.8 million USTDA-supported programme will assess technology, sites, grid integration, commercial planning and stakeholder capacity, with completion targeted for the fourth quarter of 2027.
Why it matters: This is a real development-stage step, not a reactor commitment. The study should create a more disciplined basis for assessing whether an SMR can meet Philippine grid, regulatory and financing requirements. The critical milestones remain technology selection, licensing, allocation of construction and operating risk, and a credible route to power sales.
Source: Meralco PowerGen.
WORTH TALKING ABOUT
ASEAN puts project preparation on the agenda
ASEAN’s sustainable-infrastructure committee convened its first project-development training series in Manila, focused on preparing investment-ready projects across energy, transport and digital infrastructure. The programme used a five-part framework covering technical readiness, financial structuring, risk allocation, regulatory readiness and sustainability.
Why it matters: This is not new project capital, but it is a candid acknowledgement of where regional infrastructure pipelines commonly fail: between a policy ambition and a financeable transaction. The test is whether the framework is applied to named projects and paired with project-preparation funding, advisers and public-sector decision-making authority.
Source: ASEAN Secretariat.
TECHNOLOGY & IDEAS
Singapore electrical contractor adds a small but relevant T&D contract
EGP Smart Energy, a unit of newly listed EGP Energy, secured a S$6.2 million transmission-and-distribution contract from an undisclosed infrastructure customer. The win lifts the group’s stated order book to roughly S$305.1 million.
Why it matters: The value is modest, but it is another indication that electrical works are becoming a tangible bottleneck in Singapore’s grid and high-load build-out. With the customer and scope undisclosed, it should not be overstated; the useful signal is whether contract flow begins translating into sustained delivery capacity and margin.
Source: The Business Times.
Pahang AI data-centre proposal remains firmly pre-development
Wai Chun Bio-Technology clarified in a Hong Kong exchange filing that its Pahang Aerospace City AI data-centre memorandum is non-binding, other than confidentiality and exclusivity. A formal agreement, land and environmental approvals, and a power connection would all be required before a proposed first phase could be built and commissioned.
Why it matters: The disclosure is a useful corrective to the region’s AI-infrastructure announcement cycle. The project may yet proceed, but it has not secured the rights, utilities, financing or customer commitments that make a campus investable. The next meaningful milestone is a binding project agreement accompanied by site and power evidence.
Source: HKEX.
Keeping you in the loop on the projects, deals and ideas shaping ASEAN infrastructure.