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Infrastructure in Asia

Infrastructure in Asia
The politics and economics behind Asia's big-ticket infrastructure projects.
Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport in Sri Lanka. Photo: Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport
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

Belt and Road Initiative

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

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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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The dam will be the world’s largest hydropower project when complete. Photo: Xinhua
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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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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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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A Taliban guard walks along railway tracks near a TAPI pipeline construction site at the Afghanistan-Turkmenistan border in 2024. Photo: AFP
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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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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The site for one of Nepal’s proposed hydroelectric dams, the Budhi Gandaki project. The country is keen to attract more foreign investment to tap its huge hydropower resources. Photo: SCMP
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.

Workers check solar panels on a lake in Tianchang, eastern China’s Anhui province, on January 12. China’s industrial scale effectively functions as a “green” subsidy for the planet. Photo: AFP
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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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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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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A view of the presidential palace in the planned new capital city of Nusantara in Indonesia. Photo: Reuters
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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A high-speed train leaves the Yichang North Railway Station in China’s Hubei province on December 26. Photo: Xinhua
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 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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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.

Illustration of Bataan–Cavite Interlink Bridge Project. Photo: Handout
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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Indonesia

Indonesia’s China-funded ‘Whoosh’ railway faces corruption probe

The investigation follows allegations that Indonesia paid almost three times more per kilometre than China did for its own high-speed rail.

Malaysia

Bukit Bintang upgrade to rival ‘Singapore’s Orchard Road’ draws Malaysian ire

Social media users urge officials to fix flooding issues and ageing infrastructure instead as Kuala Lumpur already has a ‘vibe’ of its own.

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People crowd the Bukit Bintang shopping area in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in July. Photo: NurPhoto via Getty Images
China-Asean relations

New Phnom Penh airport opens with fanfare as Cambodia touts regional, China ties

Officials and business leaders at opening ceremony said the airport, built in part by Chinese state firms, will make Cambodia a travel hub.

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The newly opened Techo International Airport servicing Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. Photo: AFP
The Philippines

Philippines’ crumbling bridges hinder Marcos’ infrastructure clean-up push

While officials blamed overloaded trucks, experts urged the government to build modern infrastructure and stop corruption in public works.

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Infrastructure

Will China’s next 5-year plan rewrite its infrastructure playbook?

While the old ‘megaproject’ model was effective, upcoming blueprint could provide outline for an updated, tech-driven outlook.

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Diplomacy

Opinion | How poorer nations can fund development as global aid and credit retreat

Emerging economies can put off tax reforms no longer. Donor countries can encourage this shift through performance-linked debt instruments.

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A Burundian government official speaks to newly arrived Congolese refugees while weighing a sack of rice from the final batches delivered by the now-dismantled US Agency for International Development (USAID), at the Cishemere Transit Centre near Buganda, on May 6. Photo: AFP
Chinese offshore investment

Will a Chinese firm’s Bali beach lift project alter the local landscape?

182-metre glass lift will transport tourists down the cliffside at popular Kelingking Beach in symbolic project backed by Chinese investment.

Tourists look at a partly built lift above Kelingking Beach on September 24. Photo: Ralph Jennings
Rohingya Muslims

Opinion | Why China should lead commission for a phased Rohingya repatriation

Given its Rakhine interests and diplomatic clout, Beijing could oversee a plan for return, ensuring security, rights and economic reintegration.

Singapore

‘Zero disruptions’ unrealistic, but Singapore vows stronger rail reliability

Authorities will ‘work doubly hard’ to minimise service disruption, with a task force set up to address network resilience issues.

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