The growth of Asia’s economic standing in the world is hardly news to anyone. However, as any investor can tell you, past results are no guarantee for future growth. While the economic success of the Asia-Pacific region has been impressive, it does face one looming problem that could limit future growth significantly: an infrastructural bottleneck. Simply put, without improvements to infrastructural networks (including, but not limited to, railways, airports, roads, ports, and power grids) Asian economies will be unable to retain their rapid pace of growth.
Updating and subsequently maintaining vast infrastructural networks does not come cheaply. According to the Asian Development Bank, the current decade requires an infrastructural investment across Asia close to $8 trillion only to address current demands. One major challenge of upgrading the transportation systems of Asia is the general need for improvement (with the exception of Japan, South Korea and Singapore). It is not a matter of bringing one region up to speed, but rather to implement far-reaching and comprehensive reform. While the lion’s share of this work will need to be directed towards the two biggest countries, India and China, the need for infrastructural investment in Southeast Asia (i.e. Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, etc.) is estimated at around $2.5 trillion.
Here are some concrete examples of how this infrastructural need translates into actual projects:
- China has an estimated need for 400 local and international airports. India will have to build at least another 100 in the very near future.
- Southeast Asia alone has a population of over 600 million, which is larger than comparable markets such as the EU or NAFTA. Only 71% of the population of the region currently has access to electricity and only 25% have access to piped water.
- A pan-Asian railroad connecting China to Burma, Singapore, and Cambodia is already under construction.
- Access to Burma’s offshore oil and gas assets are driving construction in gas pipelines and access ports.
- To ease traffic in Bangkok, Thailand is spending $67 billion to upgrade and add to its rail system, including the addition of high-speed rail lines.
Despite the seemingly staggering costs, this monumental undertaking does present incredible opportunities to Asian economies as well as foreign investors and contractors. Clearly, with the multitude of individual projects being sourced as well as the scale of the long-term goals, planning firms, engineering enterprises, construction corporations and project planners will be in high demand in the region for decades to come. Simply being in demand, though, is not enough. A company needs to be able to handle the certification and licensing requirements, as well as the logistics of working effectively in a foreign country. To best prepare your business for the lucrative Asian infrastructure boom and effectively navigate the process of working in Asia, contact EVS Translations.
EVS Translations has been successfully supporting international companies and construction firms in Asia for more than 20 years. Use EVS Translations’ proven expertise to make the most of your business in China, India, and across the region.
Our construction, structural engineering and architectural translation specialists are experienced in translating documents from a wide range of construction areas, including high-tech infrastructural engineering into more than 50 languages.
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