Advertisement
Advertisement
TOPIC

Infrastructure in Asia

Infrastructure in Asia
The politics and economics behind Asia's big-ticket infrastructure projects.
A trial vessel moving through the Pinglu Canal in south China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. Photo: Xinhua
China exports

China launches Pinglu Canal, slashing transit time to Southeast Asia

Newly opened Pinglu Canal will allow cargo from inland provinces to reach the Gulf of Tonkin, avoiding a 560km detour, deepening trade ties.

videocam
8
Belt and Road 2026

Ancient Silk Road to modern Belt and Road: how Hong Kong bridges China and the Middle East

Banking & finance

Pooling power: how AIIB plans to quadruple capital for Asia’s infrastructure

North Korea

North Korea, Russia open first road bridge in ‘new symbol of friendship’

The bridge can allow up to 300 vehicles to cross every day and will be linked ‌to Russia’s federal road network, says PM Mikhail Mishustin.

The first road bridge between Russia and North Korea across the Tumen river on the border with North Korea in the Primorsky region, Russia, on Monday. Photo: Russian Government/Handout via Reuters
Banking & finance

China signals urgency over construction timelines amid investment decline

The NDRC urges faster work on major projects and the six networks initiative to reverse falling investment.

5
China trade

China’s US$10.8b short cut: new Pinglu Canal prepares to supercharge Asean trade

Delivery of first command vessel looks to signal imminent opening of megaproject connecting inland factories directly to Southeast Asian markets such as Vietnam.

11
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Accidents and disasters in China

Himalayan glacier collapse hits China-Nepal trade route as casualties mount

Tragedy at Gyirong hub lays bare climate risks along fragile mountain corridor.

videocam
An aerial view of flash floods at Trishuli Bazar in Nepal’s Nuwakot district on August 26, 2026. Chinese state media reported “major casualties” from a mudslide at a Tibet trade hub on China’s side. Photo: AFP
Xinjiang

From mountains to sea: China’s plan to ring the nation with highways

The vast ‘border-coast loop’ is designed to boost development and national unity, but will have to navigate geopolitical and ecological barriers.

4
Wealth: Alternative Investments

AI-driven asset demand is reshaping Asia-Pacific’s investment landscape

Vast demand for infrastructure, fuelled by digitalisation and the energy transition, offers solid opportunities for private capital across the region.

Supported by
Standard Chartered Global Private Bank
Banking & finance

AIIB explores digital payments, eyes Hong Kong hub as it raises record funds

The development bank aims to raise a record US$11 billion this year, as it continues to broaden its operations, according to a senior official.

A view of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank headquarters in Beijing. Photo: Xinhua
Climate change

Macroscope | Who pays when overheated roads melt and rails buckle?

Costs are mounting from the damage caused by extreme weather on roads, railways, bridges and other basic infrastructure.

videocam
Melting asphalt, like this seen in India in the 2015 heatwave, is now increasingly common. Photo: EPA
Energy

Asia’s AI boom has a dirty secret: the coal that powers it

In the rush to build the digital future, regional tech hubs are digging up the past.

4
Singapore

New Johor rail link: a US$815m challenge for Singapore’s retail and F&B

A new study has proposed measures to help Singapore businesses seize opportunities from the cross-border link, set to open in 2027.

Banking & finance

Open Questions | AIIB head Zou Jiayi on multilateralism as ‘infrastructure of global trust’

As the Beijing-based development bank marks its 10th anniversary, its president says institutions like hers ‘create certainty amid uncertainty’.

Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
The Philippines

Will Marcos’ shipbuilding push deliver lasting capacity for Philippines?

The expansion of the West Cebu Industrial Park aims to strengthen the Philippines’ defence and economy, and cement dominance in shipbuilding.

18
The West Cebu Industrial Park in Balamban town, Cebu, the Philippines. Photo: Handout
Banking & finance

Open Questions | AIIB chief Zou Jiayi on financing Asia’s green transition

President of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank on how it bridges differences to build a more sustainable, climate-resilient world.

videocam
China travel

‘Smaller but smart’ Shenzhen station to redraw China’s infrastructure blueprint

Tech hub’s biggest station will make regional travel easier, but some Shenzhen residents worry it is too small relative to other rail hubs.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
The Philippines

Philippine rescuers race to free workers trapped after hotel collapse

Authorities are unable to rely on excavators and other machinery for fear that the rubble could shift and bury any survivors deep beneath the wreckage.

videocam
A woman walks beside a collapsed building where nearly 20 people are believed to be trapped in Angeles city in Pampanga province, north of Manila, on Monday. Photo: AP
Belt and Road Initiative

China’s new US$10.7 billion canal near completion to boost Asean trade links

The Pinglu Canal – a US$10 billion waterway connecting China’s heartlands to the Gulf of Tonkin – will begin trial operations as soon as September.

Thailand

‘Lives are cheap here’: Thailand reels from deadly Bangkok train crash

A drug-positive train driver with no licence. A barrier raised too late. Thailand’s capital asks: when will the city finally fix itself?

videocam
Vietnam

Vietnam’s US$5 billion Apec island is running out of time

Phu Quoc is a test case for Vietnam’s build-fast model. But with 18 months to go, the island is short of workers, diesel and hotel rooms.

A staff member sweeps the grounds of a resort on Phu Quoc island, which is set to host world leaders for the November 2027 Apec summit. Photo: AFP
China trade

How a China-backed highway may turn landlocked Laos into a trade gateway

The project is part of wider efforts to build overland trade corridors linking southern China with the Mekong region.

An aerial drone photo taken on April 13 shows a train of the China-Laos Railway, departing from Kunming in southwest China’s Yunnan province, arriving in Vientiane, Laos. Photo: Xinhua
Diplomacy

Opinion | As power flows through submarine cables, law of the sea must evolve

The global commons of the seabed is in effect being governed by private actors with the capital and tech to build and maintain cable systems.

videocam
Sri Lanka

Elephant in room: can Sri Lanka’s ‘world’s emptiest airport’ attract investors?

Since opening in 2013, Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport has failed to generate enough revenue to cover even its electricity bills.

Thailand

Bridge too far? Hormuz crisis revives Thailand’s controversial plan

While the plan to bypass the Malacca Strait is popular with Anutin’s government, economists and environmentalists say it is not realistic.

Cargo ships are loaded with containers at the port of Bangkok on April 3, 2025. Photo: Reuters
Belt and Road Initiative

As US-Iran war chokes Hormuz, can ‘Middle Corridor’ rise to the rescue?

Logistics route via Central Asia, South Caucasus, Caspian Sea and Turkey said to be ‘experiencing massive operational momentum’.

videocam
With global medical supply chains proving fragile, the Middle Corridor is being held up as a potential vital route for rapid humanitarian aid. Photo: Future Publishing via Getty Images
Tibet

Safety and quality ‘top priorities’ for China’s highly sensitive Tibet mega dam

Vice-Premier Zhang Gouqing stresses Beijing’s commitment to the ‘landmark project’ when visiting the Yarlung Tsangpo construction site.

videocam
Nepal

Nepal just elected a rapper for PM. His foreign policy has a new beat

Newly elected Balendra Shah’s public messaging suggests a balanced approach rather than a tilt to either side, analysts say.

videocam
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Help preserve 120 years of quality journalism.
SUPPORT NOW
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement