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.
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.
Related
• GMS Transport Sector Strategy 2030
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On 31 January 2014, the Asian Development Bank's Board of Directors agreed to bring the GMS: Rehabilitation of the Railway in Cambodia Project into full compliance with its safeguard policies following a report by ADB’s Compliance Review Panel.
The Yunnan Integrated Roads Network Development Project is helping to build community-based women’s groups responsible for maintaining the condition of rural roads near their villages.
The Forum was jointly organized by the Ministry of Transport (MOT) of Thailand and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
MANILA, PHILIPPINES (11 December 2013) – A new bridge straddling the Mekong River between Thailand and Lao People’s Democratic Republic is open for business, signaling completion of physical works along one of the Greater Mekong Subregion’s most critical economic corridors.
MANILA, PHILIPPINES (12 February 2013) – The Asian Development Bank and Government of Australia are providing an extra $37 million for a project improving roads and tackling HIV and human trafficking risks along a key coastal route linking Viet Nam and Cambodia.
In the People's Republic of China, a four-lane expressway—half of it bridges and tunnels—through one of the most biodiverse regions in the world is facilitating trade and raising incomes for farmers.
The Sixteenth Meeting of the Subregional Transport Forum (STF-16) was held in Nay Pyi Taw, Republic of the Union of Myanmar, on 24–25 October 2012. The Forum was jointly organized by the Ministry of Rail Transportation (MORT) of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
MANILA, PHILIPPINES (12 December 2012) - The next phase of Greater Mekong Subregion investments should expand the program into new areas such as multisector investments towards urban development, connecting remote areas with growth centers, and extending existing corridors into Myanmar, ministers attending the 18th GMS Ministerial Conference in Nanning, People's Republic of China said today in a joint statement.
MANDALAY, MYANMAR (28 June 2012) - Ministers and senior government officials from the six Greater Mekong Subregion countries met today to discuss ways of expanding economic corridors to better facilitate the movement of people and products around the subregion.
The Fifteenth Meeting of the Subregional Transport Forum (STF-15) was held in Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), on 14–15 September 2011. The Forum was jointly organized by the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MPWT), Lao PDR and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
