Developing transport infrastructure in tandem with policies and procedures for crossing borders and promoting trade has been central to efforts to interconnect the Greater Mekong Subregion countries.
The Subregional Transport Forum reviews, coordinates and monitors regional transport plans and projects of GMS member countries.
Transport lies at the heart of Greater Mekong Subregion cooperation. The development of physical infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, in tandem with policies and procedures for crossing borders and developing trade along key routes, has been central to efforts to forge a truly interconnected subregion.
Physically connecting the countries of the subregion was one of the first initiatives of the GMS program when it was founded in 1992. The countries of the Greater Mekong Subregion have acknowledged that in order to cooperate in trade, tourism, and investment, and to realize the other benefits of the region, they must expand the road links and border crossings that connect them.
This is being done through the development of “economic corridors,” which are geographic areas, often along major highways, where a variety of development projects are undertaken to maximize their development benefits. This might include projects involving infrastructure, laws and regulations, market development, and the improvement of urban centers. Economic corridors bring a wide range of benefits, far beyond what single projects deliver in terms of development impact.
The three main GMS corridors—the East–West, North–South and Southern economic corridors—have improved the lives of millions of people in the Greater Mekong Subregion. These corridors are being enhanced with secondary roads that extend their benefits to nearby communities most in need, and other roads that link to strategic seaports in the subregion. The regulatory details of how people and goods can best move along these corridors are also currently being worked out.
The GMS Economic Cooperation Program Strategic Framework 2030 (GMS-2030) will prioritize intermodal approaches, facilitate cross-border transport, and seek improvement in logistics, asset management, and road safety. Given the rise in GMS economic density, and with respect to its environmental considerations, GMS-2030 aims to ensure the development of railway networks; sea, river, and dry ports; and inland waterways. Investments in airports to improve connections with the rest of Asia and the world will be essential, as will the development of secondary roads that will link to main corridors to expand the benefits to poorer communities. An effort will be made to integrate urban transport with the GMS transport network. GMS-2030 was endorsed and adopted at the 7th GMS Summit of Leaders in September 2021. It aims to provide a new setting for the development of this subregion for the next decade.
Related
• GMS Transport Sector Strategy 2030
• GMS Transport Strategy 2006–2015
Focal Persons at the Asian Development Bank
Yasushi Tanaka
Principal Transport Specialist
Sectors Group
Dong Kyu Lee
Director
SG-TRA
Hiraoki Yamaguchi
Senior Director
SG-TRA
Other Concerned Staff & Consultants
Antonio Ressano
Regional Cooperation and Integration Unit
Southeast Asia Department
Lucia Martin Casanueva
Regional Cooperation and Integration Unit
Southeast Asia Department/GMS Secretariat
Send inquiries to GMS Secretariat.
The new MRT lines will help provide a wider choice of affordable and efficient public transport for Bangkok’s rapidly growing population. Photo: ADB.
BANGKOK, THAILAND (4 June 2019) — The Asian Development Bank signed an agreement with a financing package of 9.9 billion Thai baht ($311 million equivalent) for the construction and operation of the Pink and Yellow lines of Bangkok’s mass rapid transit system.
Thailand is spending 100 billion baht ($3 billion) in infrastructure to strengthen its position as a transport and trade hub along the economic corridors of the Greater Mekong Subregion.
Customs control in Mukdahan at Thailand's border with the Lao People's Democratic Republic. Photo: ADB.
The six countries of the Greater Mekong Subregion have agreed to extend the “early harvest” implementation of their Cross-Border Transport Facilitation Agreement (CBTA) for 2 years.
The Lao People’s Democratic Republic has issued a law to guide railway development and ensure integration of its rail services with regional and global networks.
The People’s Republic of China, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, and Thailand have agreed to build a railway bridge that will be part of a high-speed rail line connecting the three countries.
Cambodia and Thailand reconnected their railroad networks on Monday after 45 years to facilitate cross-border trade and transport.
A new bridge now links the border towns of Myawaddy in Myanmar and Mae Sot in Thailand.
Viet Nam's Finance Minister Dinh Tien Dung and Asian Development Bank's Country Director for Vietnam Eric Sidgwick sign the loan agreement in Ha Noi on 5 March 2019. Photo courtesy of ADB's Viet Nam Resident Mission.
The Government of Viet Nam and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have signed in March a $188 million loan to improve 198 kilometers of roads in northwestern provinces.
Ferry services between Kampot in Cambodia and Phu Quoc Island (in photo), a leading tourist attraction in Viet Nam, are expected to promote tourism as well as benefit residents and local businesses in the Southern Coastal Subcorridor. Photo: iStock.com.
An international seaport project in Southern Cambodia will serve as a gateway for direct ferry services to Viet Nam and later to other destinations in the Gulf of Thailand. The fast ferry services are expected to boost tourism in the Southern Coastal Subcorridor of the Greater Mekong Subregion.
The People’s Republic of China launched last month a high-speed rail service between Yunnan province’s capital Kunming and Lijiang, a tourist destination and UNESCO World Heritage site.
Greater Mekong Subregion Secretariat
Regional Cooperation and Operations Coordination Division,
Southeast Asia Department, Asian Development Bank
Address: 6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City 1550, Metro Manila, Philippines
Telephone: +63 2 8632 4444 Fax: +63 2 8636 2226