Five Ways Roads, Ports, and Smart Policies Can Drive Broad-Based Growth
The Brunei Darussalam–Indonesia–Malaysia–Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area shows that transport links alone do not drive lasting development. Infrastructure must be blended with aligned policies, local investment, skills development and protection of natural resources.
For more than 30 years, the Brunei Darussalam–Indonesia–Malaysia–Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) has sought to shape development in remote parts of Southeast Asia.
Launched in 1994, the grouping aimed to spur growth in areas far from national capitals but close to one another. Today, the subregion has a combined economy valued at $1.34 trillion, accounting for more than 18% of the four countries’ combined gross domestic product.
Early efforts focused on building roads, ports and airports to link economic centers and ease trade. Experience showed that infrastructure alone was not enough to deliver broad based gains. Development proved more durable when physical links were paired with approaches that connected people, jobs and long-term resource management.
The initial strategy centered on economic corridors designed to move goods and people more quickly across borders. Transport links improved and economic activity rose, but trade within the subregion remained limited.
In 2024, trade among the four economies accounted for less than 2% of their $165.95 billion in total trade. Most trade continued to flow to partners outside the subregion.
In response, the focus shifted from building transport networks to shaping corridors that spread opportunity and reduce disparities. Planning now incorporates industrial estates, cross border production areas and tourism zones as focal points that supply goods and services to nearby communities.
These areas are treated as economic anchors rather than isolated hubs, with the aim of extending growth to provinces, cities and border towns that have often been left behind.
Development proved more durable when physical links were paired with approaches that connected people, jobs and long-term resource management.
Making this approach work has required policy changes as well as construction. Governments have sought to align border procedures, simplify trade rules and support cross border supply chains in sectors such as agriculture and higher value manufacturing where the subregion has advantages.
Investment in people has also proved critical. Roads and ports created access, but education, skills training and support for local enterprises determined whether communities could benefit.
As corridors expanded, local authorities and partners introduced training programs, support for entrepreneurs and assistance for small businesses. Universities and technical training centers across the subregion worked together to build skills and share practical know how.
These efforts helped rural and border communities tap opportunities in tourism, farming and energy production, rather than concentrating gains in major cities.
Protection of natural resources has become a central concern as development has advanced. The subregion includes areas of exceptional biodiversity, including the Coral Triangle. Corridor planning increasingly includes safeguards for land and seas, the use of cleaner technologies and tourism models that limit damage to fragile environments.
Some corridors are being shaped around energy production from renewable sources, while others emphasize coastal livelihoods linked to fisheries and marine services alongside conservation.
The experience of the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area offers lessons to areas facing similar challenges.
First, cooperation works best when countries look past borders and line up their rules and resources, rather than focusing only on roads and ports. Development is more effective when plans are shaped around local conditions instead of one size fits all models.
Large corridor projects also work better when governments at all levels, businesses and local communities are involved from the start. Because coordination is difficult, a temporary working group can help agencies share information, solve problems and build habits of cooperation before more formal arrangements are put in place.
The third lesson is that growth is stronger when roads and ports are matched with support for farming, energy, communications, tourism, trade and workforce skills. This mix helps ensure that new connections translate into lasting economic activity.
Broad-based growth requires widening participation. Bringing more provinces and states into development plans and focusing on places that generate jobs and services can spread benefits more evenly.
Finally, long-term progress depends on protecting land and seas while economies grow. Development strategies that safeguard natural resources and promote responsible tourism are more likely to hold up over time.
Regions should act now to pair new connections with clear rules, local investment and protection of natural resources so growth reaches more people and lasts.
Original article was published at the Asian Development Blog and duplicated here with permission from the author. *
