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Infrastructure in Asia

Infrastructure in Asia
The politics and economics behind Asia's big-ticket infrastructure projects.
The West Cebu Industrial Park in Balamban town, Cebu, the Philippines. Photo: Handout
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.

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Banking & finance

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

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China travel

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

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.

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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?

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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.

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.

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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.

Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport in Sri Lanka. Photo: Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport
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’.

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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.

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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.

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Balendra Shah greets supporters in Damak, Jhapa district, on March 7 after winning the election. Photo: Reuters
The Philippines

‘Ghost projects’ push Philippines to record US$26.5 billion budget deficit

A widening deficit and falling revenue are ‘direct, quantifiable effects’ of an investigation into the flood-control scandal, economists say.

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A shopkeeper looks at his smartphone while waiting customers in Manila. The Philippines’ budget deficit hit a record high last year. Photo: EPA
Central Asia

Trains through the Taliban: Central Asia’s plan to bypass Russia and Iran

The Soviet Union severed Central Asia’s ancient trade routes to the Indian subcontinent. The region’s modern-day leaders want them back.

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China trade

As high-speed railways saturate China, how far can their global reach extend?

As Chinese giants eye Eurasia for new infrastructure, analysts speculate on what it will take to keep overseas projects from going off the rails in different host nations.

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Belt and Road Initiative

‘Time is ripe’: why China is eyeing another vast canal link to Southeast Asia

China has almost completed the US$10 billion Pinglu Canal connecting its heartlands to Southeast Asia. Now, it is mulling an even larger waterway.

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Construction continues on the Pinglu Canal in China’s southern Guangxi region in January. The canal is due to open before the end of 2026. Photo: Xinhua
Belt and Road Initiative

China to step up investment in Nepal’s hydropower sector: Nepalese official

China has ‘already proposed some projects’ in Nepal, as it looks to tap the country’s huge hydropower resources and sell power to India.

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China economy

Opinion | How a rising China is becoming a provider of global public goods

When China provides the hi-tech, low-cost hardware of development and multilateral banks provide regulatory oversight, the Global South wins.

China's economic recovery

China tightens rail approvals as Xi warns on waste and ‘operational’ trouble

Intercity lines face stricter break-even rules, as the central government cracks down on ‘back-door’ metro projects and looks to curb redundant infrastructure spending.

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Workers lay track at a construction site in China’s Jiangsu province. Photo: Getty Images
Belt and Road Initiative

China close to opening US$10 billion canal linking heartlands to Southeast Asia

The vast waterway in China’s southern Guangxi region is set to open before the end of 2026, according to state media reports.

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The Pinglu Canal, which stretches 134km (83 miles) across China’s southwestern Guangxi region, is expected to boost trade ties between China and Southeast Asia. Photo: Xinhua
Indonesia

Indonesia’s Prabowo quells US$32 billion capital doubts with first stay at site

The government said Prabowo’s visit showed his ‘commitment to ensuring the development in the area proceeds according to plan’.

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Infrastructure

China plans 19% high-speed rail expansion by 2030 amid global dominance

Beijing aims to expand the nation’s entire rail network to about 180,000km as part of 2026-2030 infrastructure push, boosting connectivity nationwide.

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Xinjiang

China’s mega expressway tunnel opens in Xinjiang, halves north-south travel time

The project is the biggest of its kind in the world and is expected to help forge stronger regional and international links.

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The Tianshan Shengli Tunnel on the Urumqi-Yuli Expressway in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is open to traffic. Photo: Xinhua
The Philippines

Can UN anti-corruption pact bring Zaldy Co back to Philippines?

The former lawmaker, who is facing charges linked to the Philippines’ flood control scandal, is suspected to have fled to Portugal.

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Fugitive Philippine lawmaker Zaldy Co (left) and President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr. Photo: Handout, AFP
The Philippines

Chinese involvement stalls Manila Bay bridge project due to security fears

Philippines delays US$124 million infrastructure project after a maritime group raised concerns against China Harbour Engineering Company.

The Philippines

Can ‘passive’ Philippine body deliver accountability in anti-corruption fight?

Limited powers for the Independent Commission for Infrastructure may hamper its ability to tackle flood control fraud, analysts say.

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