News
Govt urged to establish Belt and Road taskforce
The Myanmar government is urged to take a proactive role and form a taskforce to carve out its involvement in China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). An adviser to the National League for Democracy-led government stressed the need to scrutinize debt while others voiced the ...
Su Phyo Win, Chan Mya Htwe, and Thompson Chau
Laos working with neighbours to increase rail freight transport: official
Lao authorities are working with their counterparts in several neighbouring countries to finalise logistical procedures for increased railway freight transport, a senior government official has said. Deputy Director General of the Railway Department, Mr Sengthavisay Malivanh, told news editors from 24 media publications of 20 ...
Plans put in action to turn Laos into a land link, Asian editors told
Laos has taken steps to pursue its plan to build a railway network that will connect the landlocked country with its neighbours, the rest of the region and the world, railway authorities told visiting news editors from Asian countries. In its latest move, the Lao government ...
State Counsellor stresses Belt and Road needs to align national priorities
At the BRI summit in May, the State Counsellor stressed that BRI-led projects should complement national priorities and take into account the welfare of local communities, and highlighted the need to ensure responsible business practice. Local analysts and commentators in Myanmar have spelt out some ...
Myanmar has 16 months left to join the AEC. Here’s a checklist of what needs to be done
Myanmar has until December 31, 2018, about 16 months, to join the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), which aims to create a single market and production base with a free flow of goods, services, labour and capital across its member states. The AEC has so far achieved ...
Fast trains to nowhere in Southeast Asia
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged Thailand on a July 24 visit to strengthen “cooperation in the construction of the China-Thai railway,” calling the kingdom “a very important partner” in China’s One Belt One Road initiative. Yi did not make clear, at least in his ...
China helps launch $13bn rail project in Malaysia
China and Malaysia broke ground on Wednesday on a $13 billion rail project linking peninsular Malaysia’s east and west, the largest such project in the country and a major part of Beijing’s Belt and Road infrastructure push. Keep reading ...
Myanmar’s stakes in two Belt and Road economic corridors
Myanmar is involved in two of the six economic corridors under China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), according to a report from a multinational professional services firm.The country’s involvement in the two corridors underlines its geopolitical advantage in facilitating the connectivity between China and South ...
Big Four firm hails Belt and Road as a “global game changer”
A recent report from a multinational professional services firm praises China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as transcending beyond initial expectations by extensively boosting trade and commerce and supporting both physical and social infrastructures. It urged foreign businesses to join the game. The report Repaving ...
Asia’s infrastructure boom is coming to the cities most threatened by climate change
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 ...
