Bhattacharyay, Biswa Nath

Abstract
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has adopted the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) and ASEAN Vision 2020 for integrating its economies into a single production base, creating a regional market, and changing ASEAN into a stable, prosperous, and highly competitive region. The ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint, established to fast-track the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) establishment by 2015, envisioned ASEAN as a highly competitive region, fully integrated into the global economy, possessing a single market production base, and characterized by equitable economic development (Goh 2008).
Infrastructure development is essential to the realization of ASEAN’s goal of economic integration and is indispensable to ASEAN’s future success. In view of the ongoing global financial and economic crisis, now more than ever, the development of infrastructure needs to be accelerated to enhance physical connectivity and to encourage resource-sharing for rebalancing ASEAN growth towards increased intraregional trade and regional demand. To promote cross-border trade and investment, improve countries’ productivity and competitiveness, and raise domestic output, it is important that ASEAN be connected through improved and integrated roads, railways, airways, ports and energy and tele-communication networks.
This paper discusses the role of infrastructure development in ASEAN economic connectivity and integration and its associated issues and challenges. Section II presents the role of regional infrastructure cooperation in growth and integration. Section III provides an overview of ASEAN infrastructure and its importance for enhancing growth, trade, and investment; reducing the development gap; providing adequate basic needs; and achieving poverty reduction. Section IV examines issues and challenges in infrastructure development. Section V addresses infrastructure financing requirements, while section VI concludes.
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