The East–West

Economic corridor Economic corridors are integrated networks of infrastructure within a geographical area designed to stimulate economic development. They connect different economic agents in particular geographic area. Corridors may be developed within a country ...

is an economic development program initiated in order to promote development and integration of 5 Southeast Asian countries, namely:

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

, Laos,

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...

and

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. The concept was agreed upon in 1998 at the Ministerial Conference of the

Greater Mekong Subregion The Greater Mekong Subregion, (GMS) or just Greater Mekong, is a trans-national region of the Mekong River basin in Southeast Asia. The region is home to more than 300 million people. It came into being with the launch of a development program i ...

, organized in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. This corridor became operational on December 12, 2006. The economic corridor is created based on a road of 1,450 km with the west end at port city of

Mawlamyine Mawlamyine (also spelled Mawlamyaing; , ; th, เมาะลำเลิง ; mnw, မတ်မလီု, ), formerly Moulmein, is the fourth-largest city in Myanmar (Burma), ''World Gazetteer'' south east of Yangon and south of Thaton, at th ...

(Myanmar), crossing Kayin Division, Thai provinces of Tak, Sukhothai,

Phitsanulok Phitsanulok ( th, พิษณุโลก, ) is an important, historic city in lower northern Thailand and is the capital of Phitsanulok Province. Phitsanulok is home to Naresuan University and Pibulsongkram Rajabhat University, as well a ...

Phetchabun Phetchabun is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in Thailand, capital of Phetchabun Province. It covers the ''tambon'' Nai Mueang of the Phetchabun District, along the Pa Sak River. As of 2005, it had a population of 23,823. Phetchabun lies north o ...

Khon Kaen Khon Kaen ( th, ขอนแก่น, ) is one of the four major cities of Isan, Thailand, also known as the "big four of Isan", the others being Udon Thani, Nakhon Ratchasima, and Ubon Ratchathani. It is the capital of Khon Kaen province and ...

Kalasin Kalasin ( th, กาฬสินธุ์) is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in northeast Thailand, the capital of Kalasin Province. As of 2015, it has a population of 34,429 It covers the whole ''tambon ''Tambon'' ( th, ตำบล, ) is a loca ...

and

Mukdahan Mukdahan ( th, มุกดาหาร, ) is a town (''thesaban mueang'') and capital of Mukdahan Province, which became Thailand's 73rd province in 1982. In the northern region of the country, on the right (west) bank Mekong River, it was for ...

, the Laotian province of

Savannakhet Savannakhet (ສະຫວັນນະເຂດ), officially named Kaysone Phomvihane ( lo, ໄກສອນ ພົມວິຫານ; th, ไกสอน พมวิหาน) since 2005 and previously known as ''Khanthaboury'' (ຄັນທະ ...

, and the Vietnamese provinces of

Quảng Trị Quảng Trị () is a district-level town in Quảng Trị Province in the North Central Coast region of Vietnam. It is second of two municipalities in the province after the provincial capital Đông Hà. History The Sino-Vietnamese name Quả ...

, Thừa Thiên–Huế Province and

Đà Nẵng Nang or DanangSee also Danang Dragons ( ; vi, Đà Nẵng, ) is a class-1 municipality and the fifth-largest city in Vietnam by municipal population. It lies on the coast of the East Sea of Vietnam at the mouth of the Hàn River, and is on ...

city as the east end. From Myanmar it is further connected to India via

India–Myanmar–Thailand Trilateral Highway India–Myanmar–Thailand Trilateral Highway (IMT Highway), long route, is a highway under upgrade under India's Look East policy that will connect Moreh, India with Mae Sot, Thailand via Myanmar. Imphal- Mandalay-Bangkok route, consisting of ...

which is being upgraded, with most part already completed and remaining upgrade will be completed by 2020. By using the East–West Economic Corridor, the travel time between

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

and

Yangon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...

is three days, compared with the two to three weeks needed for conventional marine transportation via the Straits of Malacca.

Corridor development

Economic impact

Tariffs for Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam will be abolished by 2018, all of have the cross-border transport agreement to simplify logistics and customs procedures. These 5 nations with combined population of 250 million, have USD32 billion trade with each other (2016). India is individually negotiating a road vehicle agreement with these nations.

Asian Development Bank The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank established on 19 December 1966, which is headquartered in the Ortigas Center located in the city of Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines. The bank also maintains 31 field offic ...

study shows that the improved road and rail links, elimination of tariffs and non-tariff barriers, will result in a benefit of at least $568 billion to South Asian and South East Asian nations.Regional road and rail projects inching forward to facilitate greater linkage
The Nation, 5 October 2015.

Immigration and customs

All the border crossings from India, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia to Vietnam already have the integrated immigration and customs checkpost that also allow foreign tourists with evisas.Overland Thai borders to Myanmar open to e-visa travellers
PhuketNews, 2016.

Road highway upgrade

Road network from India to Vietnam exists, which is being upgraded. Bangkok to Cambodian Capital city of Phenom Phen road upgrade was already complete. Vietnam and Cambodia signed a MoU to upgrade the 195 km long Ho Chi Minh City and Phnom Penh highway. Second bridge to Mae Sot will open in 2018.Mekong region racing to bolster cross-border logistics
Nikkei, Sept 2017.

Rail connectivity development

Rail network from India to Vietnam has several missing links, which are in the various stages of being planned or constructed.

Gallery

File:Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge Gate.jpg, A gate on the Thai side of the Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge, linking Myanmar's

Kayin State Kayin State ( my, ကရင်ပြည်နယ်, ; kjp, ဖၠုံခါန်ႋကၞင့်, italics=no; ksw, ကညီကီၢ်စဲၣ်, ), also known by the endonyms Kawthoolei and Karen State, is a state of Myanmar. The ...

with Thailand's

Tak Province Tak ( th, ตาก, , Burmese: တာ့ခ် pronounced ak is one of Thailand's seventy-seven provinces (''changwat'') and lies in lower northern Thailand. Neighbouring provinces are (from north clockwise) Mae Hong Son, Chiang Mai, Lamphun, ...

. File:PakseBridge.jpg, This bridge over the

Mekong River The Mekong or Mekong River is a trans-boundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's twelfth longest river and the third longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , and it drains an area of , discharging of water annual ...

connects Northeast Thailand and Southern Laos, an important transport project of the Corridor. File:Cửa khẩu quốc tế Lao Bảo.jpg, The

Lao Bảo Lao Bảo is a small town in Hướng Hóa District of Quảng Trị Province, Vietnam, located in the North Central Coast region, near the border with Laos. Its population is approximately 30,000. As Lao Bảo is located in an advantaged are ...

border gate (to Lao P.D.R) in Quảng Trị Province, Việt Nam. File:Hai Van Tunnel North Entrance.jpg, A tunnel through the Hai Van mountain range in Vietnam opens the way to sea ports in the South China Sea.

References

Citations

Greater Mekong Subregion Business Forum

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:East-West Economic Corridor Greater Mekong Subregion Economy of Thailand Economy of Vietnam Economy of Laos Economy of Myanmar