March 2023 Foreign direct investment is effective in promoting economic development according to International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Bangladesh President Mahbubur Rahman, speaking at the webinar "Into the Centenary Year: ICC Court visits ICC Bangladesh." Bangladesh is South Asia's second-largest economy and is slated to graduate from the least developed country (LDC) category in November 2026. Read More Tags: FDI, Bangladesh, SASEC, Economic Corridor Development |
October 2022 The Bangladesh Roads and Highways Department signed a contract for road expansion work under the SASEC Dhaka-Sylhet Corridor Road Development Project. The contracted work will expand the 35-kilometer section of the national highway between Narayanganj and Narsingdi districts from two to six lanes to ease traffic. Read More Tags: ADB, Bangladesh, SASEC, Economic Corridor Development |
October 2022 Sri Lanka President Ranil Wickremesinghe visited the eastern port district of Trincomalee to inspect its integrated development plan. During his visit, he emphasized the need for India and Sri Lanka to cooperate to develop the Trincomalee port on the country’s northeastern coast. Read More Tags: India, Sri Lanka, Economic Corridor Development, Ports, Trincomalee |
April 2022 The Gorai flyover in Mirzapur upazila, Tangail, was opened to traffic on April 25, 2022. "The flyover will ensure smooth movement of vehicles," said Mr. Noor-e-Alam, additional director of South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC)-1 project, Bangladesh Roads and Highways Department. Read More Tags: Bangladesh, SASEC, Road Transport, ADB, Economic Corridor Development |
December 2021 The Ministry of Transport of Thailand has released a route map for its national shipping line. The route is part of the country's plan to connect the Southern Economic Corridor with a land bridge linking Chumphon on the eastern coast of the Gulf of Thailand to Ranong on the Andaman Sea, which will serve as a transit port connecting the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Read More Tags: Thailand, BIMSTEC, Economic Corridor Development |
August 2021 |
April 2021 Mr. Obaidul Quader, Road Transport and Bridges Minister, Bangladesh, is pushing to begin work to upgrade the Chittagong-Cox's Bazar Highway. The road, one of the busiest in Bangladesh, will be widened to four-lanes to ease traffic along the route and improve subregional connectivity. Read More Tags: Road, Economic Corridor Development, Transport, Bangladesh |
April 2021 The Asian Development Bank has approved a $484-million loan for a project to improve transport connectivity along the Chennai–Kanyakumari Industrial Corridor (CKIC) in Tamil Nadu, India, to strengthen industrial growth and create jobs along the corridor. The CKIC is part of India’s East Coast Economic Corridor, which stretches from West Bengal to Tamil Nadu and connects to Southeast Asia and East Asia. Read More Tags: ADB, Regional Cooperation, SASEC, Transport, Economic Corridor Development, East Coast Economic Corridor |
September 2020 The Bangladesh Executive Committee of the National Economic Council has approved a road expansion program through the SASEC Road Link Project II: Elenga-Hatikamrul-Rangpur Highway Four-Lane Upgradation. The project will be part of a road network connecting Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal that would increase trade and commerce in the subregion. Read More Tags: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Economic Corridor Development, India, Nepal, SASEC, Transport |
April 2020 |
December 2019 |
September 2019 Economic corridor development is an effective policy that could promote sustainable growth in Bangladesh. It is a tool that enables the proliferation of industry, creates jobs, upgrades infrastructure, and links production centers with global value chains. It also helps create markets in lagging regions. Read More Tags: Bangladesh, Economic Corridor Development, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Regional Integration, Trade, Transport |
May 2019 Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the Konabary and Chandra flyovers; the Kaliakair, Deohata, Mirzapur, and Gharinda underpasses; and the Kadda-1 and Bimail bridges on the Joydebpur-Chandra-Tangail-Elenga highway under the South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation countries (SASEC) road connectivity project. Read More Tags: Bangladesh, Economic Corridor Development, SASEC, Transport |
May 2018 Plans are being drafted to turn Silchar, a city in Assam, India, into a logistics hub. Multimodal transport linkages from Silchar to Myanmar and to Bangladesh are being considered, in line with the Government of India's "Act East" policy. These will decongest Guwahati and place Silchar at the forefront of growing economic relations between India's northeastern states and Bangladesh and the countries in Southeast Asia. Read More Tags: India, Act East Policy, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Thailand, Economic Corridor Development |
December 2017 The SASEC Program ended 2017 on a high note, having launched the SASEC Vision, welcomed Myanmar as a full member of SASEC, invested almost $1 billion in three new projects during the year, and seen total program investment rise to $10.74 billion for 49 loan/grant projects. The SASEC Vision paved the way in 2017 for strengthened partnership and economic cooperation between the countries of South Asia and Southeast Asia, by leveraging opportunities and synergies found in natural resources. Read More Tags: SASEC, Myanmar, Trade Facilitation, Energy, Economic Corridor Development |
November 2017 In his keynote address at the ADB Regional Cooperation and Integration Week, ADB President Takehiko Nakao stated that regional cooperation is critical to securing Asia’s economic future. He noted ADB’s continued commitment to support regional cooperation as a means to reduce inequality and overcome infrastructure gaps, and cited specific SASEC projects as effective examples. The ADB Regional Cooperation and Integration Week was held on 27-29 November 2017, in Manila, Philippines. Read More Tags: ADB, ASEAN, Economic Corridor Development, Energy, Myanmar, Regional Cooperation, SASEC, Transport, World Bank, WTO |
October 2017 The Asian Development Bank has submitted the Comprehensive Development Plan for the proposed Southwest Bangladesh Economic Corridor to the Government of Bangladesh. This strategic framework document will guide the efficient implementation of economic corridor projects, integrating industry, urban, infrastructure, and regulatory frameworks. Read More Tags: ADB, Bangladesh, Economic Corridor Development |
August 2017 This commentary on the interim report for the Southwest Bangladesh Economic Corridor by Mr. M. Rokonuzzaman Ph.D, Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, North South University, Bangladesh, highlights the need for Bangladesh to boost its labor advantage with high-tech innovation to create high-paying jobs for millions of university graduates, ultimately driving the country toward its goal of achieving high-income status by 2041. Read More Tags: ADB, Bangladesh, Economic Corridor Development |
May 2017 |
April 2017 Bangladesh has the potential to become a transport hub for India, Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Myamar, according to Mr. AMA Muhith, Finance Minister, Bangladesh. Turning Bangladesh into a regional and transshipment hub would enhance economic cooperation and result in collective economic growth for the countries, Mr. Muhith said at the SASEC Finance Ministers’ Meeting in New Delhi, India. Read More Tags: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Economic Corridor Development, Energy, ICT, India, Nepal, Maldives, Myanmar, SASEC, South Asia, Sri Lanka, Trade Facilitation, Transport, Regional Cooperation |
February 2017 Mr. Wencai Zhang, Asian Development Bank Vice President, discusses in this commentary how Asia’s growth poles will drive the global economy in the coming years, if South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia can dynamically integrate their economies. He emphasized the urgent need to synch strengths across sub-regions—by removing non-tariff barriers, strengthening connectivity, and building economic corridors—to help erase poverty in the region. Read More Tags: ADB, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Connectivity, Economic Corridor Development |
July 2016 South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) investment projects increased to a cumulative $7.66 billion in the areas of transport, energy, trade facilitation, and ICT with the recent approval of India’s Bihar New Ganga Bridge Project. To date, 40 SASEC-supported projects are helping member countries strengthen regional connectivity infrastructure, promote economic growth, and foster regional cooperation. In addition, there are now 71 technical assistance projects worth $66.14 mi Read More Tags: SASEC, Energy, Trade Facilitation, Transport, South Asia, ADB, ICT, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Economic Corridor Development |
July 2016 The economic corridor development (ECD) strategy is an approach that integrates and synergizes industry, infrastructure, and urbanization through meticulous planning over a long-term horizon. An Asian Development Bank (ADB) blog post by Mr. Hoe Yun Jeong, Senior Economist (Regional Cooperation), South Asia Regional Department, published on 26 July 2016, shares how an ECD approach can be beneficial for the South Asia region. Read More Tags: Economic corridor, India, Vizag-Chennai Industrial Corridor, South Asia, East Coast Economic Corridor, Economic Corridor Development, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka |
March 2016 Construction of a new road from Imphal City to Tamenglong via Kangchup was officially inaugurated by Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh. The 103-kilometer road improvement is part of a larger program to improve a key strategic thoroughfare on the Asian Highway, integrating South and Southeast Asia, bordering Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, and Nepal. It is funded by an Asian Development Bank loan, approved in March 2014. Read More Tags: India, Asian Highway, Transport, Economic Corridor Development |