*4.2. Infrastructure Investment Projects in the Mekong Subregion*

The GMS regional investment framework 2014–2022 (RIF 2022) pipeline projects consist of 143 investment projects requiring USD 65.7 billion and 84 technical assistance projects requiring USD 295 million (see Table 1). Of the total 227 prioritized projects, which require investment of about USD 66 billion, there are financing gaps for 121 projects amounting to USD 27 billion (about 40% of the total investment). Of the projects currently identified with available financing, 70% have government financing, 18% have ADB financing, 6% have financing through other development partners, and 6% have private sector investment or public–private partnerships [74].

The RIF 2022 is heavily skewed towards transportation sector projects, as the table shows. However, intersectoral linkages, such as tourism supported through transport networks, are more prominent in the RIF 2022. Furthermore, there is an increase in transportation subsectors, with new projects in ports and waterways, logistics, and border crossings, which were missing or underrepresented in earlier pipelines. Railway infrastructure, because of its greenfield nature and extensive civil works, continues to make up the bulk of the required investment costs in the RIF 2022. Some railway projects have commenced, with domestic budgets and bilateral assistance from China. The GMS Railway Association is assessing which railway lines to prioritize for the subregion and examining alternative modalities to address the vast financing needs for rail infrastructure [74,75]. In addition to projects in new transport subsectors in the RIF 2022, projects in border area or border zone development involve multisectoral interventions such as road and/or border infrastructure, trade facilitation, technical and vocational education and training, schools, urban infrastructure, and tourism. The GMS Tourism Infrastructure for Inclusive Growth projects also use this multisectoral approach.


**Table 1.** Regional Investment Framework 2022 summary by sector.

BEZ = border economic zone, HRD = human resources development, ICT = information and communication technology, TA = technical assistance, TTF = transport and trade facilitation. Source: ADB [74].

> Of the total transport sector investment projects, as shown in Table 1, railways took 62% of the total (about USD 35 billion investment in the RIF 2022), followed by roads and bridges at 36% (about USD 20 billion). If the railway, road, and bridge projects under construction and potential new projects are realized in the near future, the GMS will be a region of connectivity by rail and road, which will play out very well for connectivity to Malaysia and Singapore. Thus, the flows of goods and services could see potential increases in volume, positively affecting economic growth in the region.
