The post Guangdong to support Myanmar in infrastructure, productivity first appeared on Open Development Mekong.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday (Oct 9) pledged to promote quality infrastructure projects in five South-east Asian nations along the Mekong River, while their leaders said they supported Japan’s Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy (FOIPS). “The Mekong region is a corridor that connects East Asia and South Asia, as well as a land bridge that links the Pacific Ocean to the Indian Ocean,” Mr Abe said at the outset of the 10th Mekong-Japan Summit in Tokyo.

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When the president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, visited Beijing in October 2016, shook hands with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping and announced the “separation” of his country from the United States, it felt like a pivotal moment. 

[…]The Philippines, like other states such as Cambodia and Myanmar, would, it seemed, pivot toward Beijing.

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The post Infrastructure: Japan and China fight over ‘the soul’ of Asia first appeared on Open Development Mekong.

The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), a federal development finance institution in the US, is looking to support American infrastructure investment in Southeast Asia to enhance the region’s connectivity.

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The post US to support infrastructure investment in SEA first appeared on Open Development Mekong.

The opening of the Cao Lanh Bridge in the southern province of Dong Thap last week to link two banks of Tien River has signaled a promising development for the Mekong Delta. Yet, on the same route, the halt in the construction of Vam Cong Bridge over Hau River, along with the ineffective use of Trung Luong – My Thuan highway and the difficulty in directing transport flows for ships into Hau River, gravely hinders that expected development.

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The post Transport infrastructure in Mekong Delta needs urgent attention first appeared on Open Development Mekong.

Beijing has pledged billions of dollars to build new infrastructure in Cambodia, officials said Thursday, as Chinese Premier Li Keqiang ended a two-day charm offensive currying favor for its mega-dams across the Mekong.

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The post Eyeing Mekong dams, China lavishes cash on ally Cambodia first appeared on Open Development Mekong.

As a region, Asia pours an estimated $881 billion each year into infrastructure. Some recent notable works include the roughly 6,000-kilometer (3,700-mile) four-lane highway that connects New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai, which was completed in 2012; and the approved plan for a metro through Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka, home to more than 8 million people.

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The post Asia’s infrastructure boom is coming to the cities most threatened by climate change first appeared on Open Development Mekong.

Asia’s smallest economies are growing faster than giants like China, according to the World Bank. Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar will post the most rapid expansions in Asia after India from 2017 to 2019, sustaining growth rates of close to 7 percent, according to forecasts released this week. Among the least developed countries, the combined size of the three economies is less than $100 billion, about a third of neighbors like Singapore, Malaysia and Philippines. 
Located in the Mekong region, Southeast Asia’s frontier nations are stepping up their infrastructure drive to boost growth and diversify their economies as they seek to shed their image as the region’s backwater.

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The post Asia’s smallest economies are among its fastest growing first appeared on Open Development Mekong.

Leaders of the Vietnam News Agency and the Laos News Agency have agreed to improve the quality of their news exchange, aiming to more vigorously communicate the two nations’ special bond, especially as the two countries celebrate the 55th anniversary of their relations in 2017. During talks in Hà Nội on December 7, VNA General Director Nguyễn Đức Lợi and KPL General Director Sounthone Khanthavong concurred that the two sides should increase media coverage of the respective countries and their people for stronger Việt Nam- Laos relations. KPL will continue helping VNA publish the Lao language Vietnam Pictorial in Laos, and it will promote both the publication’s online presence and the VNA’s electronic newspaper VietnamPlus on KPL’s website. The KPL official also pledged to support the re-appearance of the VNA-run television channel Vnews on Laos’ cable TV system in 2017.

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The post Việt Nam, Laos news agencies agree on stronger coordination first appeared on Open Development Mekong.

No soil has been turned since the survey and design of the Nasone road upgrade, which would link Luang Prabang province to the Vietnam border at Dien Bien province, after a study into the project ended two years ago. Vietnam’s Minister of Transport, Mr Truong Quang Nghia, met with the Lao Minister of Public Works and Transport, Dr Bounchanh Sinthavong, in Vientiane last week to talk about the project. Mr Nghia said the 110-km road upgrade is expected to cost about US$87 million. The road would run from the Meuangngoy junction in Ngoy district to the Vietnam border via Phonthong district. We suggested to Dr Bounchanh that we should build the section from the centre of Phonthong district to the border first, over a distance of around 50 kilometres, he said. Dr Bounchanh said he and Mr Nghia jointly approved the construction of this section of the road. If Mr Nghia approves it would be possible for us to borrow money from Vietnam with a low interest rate in order to fund the construction, Dr Bounchanh added.

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The post Vietnam urges Laos to move forward with road link first appeared on Open Development Mekong.