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Infrastructure in Asia

Infrastructure in Asia
The politics and economics behind Asia's big-ticket infrastructure projects.
last updated:
9 September, 2024
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) ninth annual conference in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Photo: AIIB
Banking & finance

Macroscope | Rising ‘United States of Eurasia’ will need a development bank to support it

From Eurasia’s vast potential to growing new development banks, emerging market economies are carrying more weight in a global economy.

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China economy

Opinion | China’s Dalian airport will be more than an infrastructure marvel

Infrastructure

China has built the world’s longest expressway tunnel

Climate change

Opinion | Asia must not let its appetite for sand consume its rivers and seas

The environmental consequences of sand mining are immense. Across Asia, rivers are shrinking, coastlines eroding and ecosystems unravelling.

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Ferries sail along the Mekong River at dawn in Phnom Penh on August 13. The river has become a hotspot for sand mining. Photo: AFP
Xinjiang

Chinese tunnel crews punch through mountains for Xinjiang expressway project

The Tianshan Shengli Tunnel is expected to be the longest of its kind and help link the region with neighbouring countries.

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China's economic recovery

China’s infrastructure spending may surge in 2025 to meet 5-year goals

With construction seen as vital to stabilising the national economy, authorities emphasise that there is still a lot of room to increase fiscal spending.

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Belt and Road Initiative

How a new railway will extend China’s reach into Central Asia

The 523km line linking China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan could eventually be extended to the Middle East, South Asia and Europe.

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The 100,000th China-Europe freight train arrives in Duisberg, Germany in early December. The new railway will offer an alternative to the current route, which runs through Russia. Photo: Xinhua
Vietnam

Vietnam to build US$67 billion high-speed railway

The railway will run from Hanoi in the north to Ho Chi Minh City in the south, in a boost to infrastructure expected to drive investment.

China’s military drills

China and Pakistan talk security as they target terrorism against belt and road

Top Chinese military official meets Pakistani counterpart in wake of attacks against Chinese interests in the South Asian country.

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China-Asean relations

China leveraging Laos to link up its Southeast Asian economic interests

Premier Li Qiang visited Laos earlier this month, with the relatively undeveloped and small Southeast Asia nation seen as key to China’s plans in the region.

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A train passes by the China-Laos borderline inside a tunnel. Photo: Xinhua
Asean

Opinion | As AI takes the world by storm, Asia stands to benefit

Amid rising demand for AI and cybersecurity, Southeast Asia’s lower costs, renewable energy and political neutrality are proving attractive.

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Southeast Asia has quickly emerged as an ideal destination for data centres, with Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand leading the way. Photo: Shutterstock
Belt and Road Initiative

Opinion | As attacks on Chinese workers in Pakistan grow, how will Beijing respond?

In the wake of deadly attacks on Chinese nationals in Pakistan, Beijing looks likely to get more directly involved in counterterrorism.

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Indonesia

Widodo’s decade in power leaves an Indonesia transformed – but concerned

While Jokowi’s presidency brought growth and modernisation, his last-minute political manoeuvring raised fears of democratic backsliding.

Cambodia

Cambodia-Vietnam ties strained by new China-backed canal

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Belt and Road Initiative

Editorial | Pakistan killings send China a grim reminder

Real life-and-death threats face those who work in high-risk areas and authorities must attempt to contain violence.

Pakistani security officials on Monday inspect the scene of the blast outside the Jinnah international airport in Karachi. Photo: EPA-EFE
India

Will Mumbai’s US$6.9 billion roads plan fix gridlock in India’s finance hub?

The ambitious “Mumbai in Minutes” initiative promises faster commutes, but experts warn of land acquisition and environmental hurdles.

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Banking & finance

VP of China-based AIIB says bank has proven doubters ‘100% wrong’

With 110 member states and years of experience, AIIB vice-president says Beijing-based development bank a model for multilateralism.

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China-Asean relations

Why China’s belt and road push could give it an edge in Southeast Asia

Infrastructure projects such as high-speed rail could help Beijing keep US from coaxing region into its orbit, analysts say.

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
Indonesia

Indonesia bags first foreign investment for Nusantara from Chinese developer

Analysts say ‘relatively small’ investment may be new strategy to secure more modest funding, attract expansion opportunities across Indonesia.

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China's economic recovery

Exclusive | With major waterway plans in the pipeline, is China in its ‘grand canal era’?

Local governments seeking economy-boosting infrastructure projects are pitching costly waterways, ushering in a ‘grand canal era’ and raising eyebrows.

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Belt and Road Initiative

Explainer | What, where, how: the next 10 years of China’s evolving Belt and Road Initiative

With focus of global trade plan shifting, gone may be the days when huge infrastructure projects left partner countries holding a big bill and facing environmental implications.

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A family rides past a decoration in the shape of the national flags of China and Pakistan ahead of a visit to the capital city of Lahore by Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng in July last year to mark the 10th anniversary of a mega economic plan that is the cornerstone of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative. Photo: AFP
Thailand

Is Thai mega project a land bridge too far for ‘desperate’ government?

Analysts warn the project could become another white elephant, with funding, long-term viability and possible corruption among serious concerns.

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Former Thai prime minister Srettha Thavisin stands in front of an infographic depicting the land bridge to bypass the Malacca Strait. Photo: Facebook/Srettha Thavisin
Malaysia

Tourist missing after falling into Kuala Lumpur sinkhole

China economy

Will Thailand’s new PM seek Chinese funding for land bridge? Definitely, maybe

With a new Thai leader in place, analysts speculate over whether she will ask for China’s aid in a massive land bridge project that would serve both countries’ interests.

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Belt and Road Initiative

How violent unrest in Pakistan could hurt China’s belt and road megaprojects

Beijing shows signs of frustration as megaprojects in Pakistan, including Gwadar port and CPEC, face growing security risks, observers say.

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People from Pakistan’s Baloch community take part in a demonstration on July 28 in the city of Gwadar, home to a Chinese-funded port project. Photo: AFP
Nepal

Trading mushrooms for motorbikes spells change for Nepal’s remote Dolpo

Yarsagumba fungus has boasted incomes in the region and paid for Chinese motorbikes and other mod cons, but will authorities be wise enough to recognise looming potholes on the road to development?

Thanks to the arrival of Chinese motorcycles, locals enjoy newfound mobility around Dolpo, part of the rugged region of Dolpa, the largest, but third-most sparsely peopled of Nepal’s 77 districts. However looming potholes on the road to development include concerns about noise and pollution. Photo: Neelima Vallangi
India

‘Lucky that no one died’: rains, corruption blamed for India’s falling bridges

Experts say scientific bridge health monitoring systems needed to prevent collapses linked to intense downpours and faulty construction by corrupt firms.

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Laos

Laos is drowning in debt. China says it’s ‘doing its best’ to help

The tiny Southeast Asian nation’s massive debt burden amounts to 108 per cent of its gross domestic product.

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