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Infrastructure in Asia

Infrastructure in Asia
The politics and economics behind Asia's big-ticket infrastructure projects.
The dam will be the world’s largest hydropower project when complete. Photo: Xinhua
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

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The Philippines

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

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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.

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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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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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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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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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.

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.

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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 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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Illustration: Henry Wong
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.

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.

Commuters on an MRT train in Singapore. A string of service faults across several MRT and LRT lines in recent months disrupted travel in the city state. Photo: Roy Issa
Northern Metropolis

Outside In | To speed up Northern Metropolis construction, get in bamboo scaffolders

Bamboo scaffolders offer speed, cost efficiency and sustainability. And the boom in demand will give the ancient craft a much-needed lifeline.

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A scaffolding worker working on Causeway Place at Great George Street, in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, on April 7. Photo: Sam Tsang
Malaysia

Asian Angle | Malaysia’s 13th plan offers pocket-sized reforms for a middle-income quagmire

With a focus on economic complexity and social mobility, the 13th Malaysia Plan aims to address decades of underperformance and stagnation.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh buys more power from India to meet rising electricity needs

The country has been boosting power imports and local coal-fired generation due to gas infrastructure challenges and to cut costs.

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