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Public-private partnerships vital to solve ASEAN's connectivity conundrum: experts

Xinhua, May 11, 2017 Adjust font size:

Deep cooperation between the public and private sectors is crucial to narrow the infrastructure gap in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), experts agreed in a session at the World Economic Forum on ASEAN in Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, on Thursday.

"The buy-in of the private sector is crucial," Jin Liqun, president of the Beijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), said.

Cambodian Transport Minister Sun Chanthol said "We have to look to the private sector to build major infrastructure."

The Asian Development Bank estimates that ASEAN will require 26 trillion U.S. dollars in investment by 2030 to meet the region's infrastructure needs.

The AIIB sees infrastructure as the key to promoting economic and social development and reducing poverty. Crucial to this is the need to bring together the 10 ASEAN countries and deepen their economic integration.

"We understand how important it is for all the countries of ASEAN to be connected," Jin noted.

In the energy sector, Tevin Vongvanich, chief executive officer of PTT Public Company Limited in Thailand, explained: "Connectivity is very crucial for economic development."

"The business case for connected infrastructure is very clear," said Anna Marrs, chief executive officer of Commercial and Private Banking at Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore.

She observed that there is a lot of money available for funding projects. The challenge is finding infrastructure projects that provide good cash flow, limited risk and big competitiveness gains for the country involved and its neighbors.

"Infrastructure investment could be very productive but, if not well-connected, some infrastructure projects could be a white elephant," Jin cautioned. "We look at the impact of a project not just for a country but whether there would be positive spillover impact on neighboring countries."

More than 700 business, government and civil society leaders from 40 countries and regions are participating in the 26th World Economic Forum on ASEAN in Phnom Penh from May 10 to 12. Endit