Book Dissemination

ADBI Dean Kawai and Hiroshi Watanabe discuss with Asian policymakers the vision of a seamless Asia with regards to regional infrastructure..

In light of the current global financial and economic crisis, it has become increasingly evident that this is the time for Asia to expand its role as a center for global growth by harnessing its vast potential through a seamlessly integrated, pan- Asian infrastructure network. The newly released publication, Infrastructure for a Seamless Asia, the joint flagship study by ADB and ADBI, reports that to realize pan-Asian connectivity in energy, transport, and tele-communications, a total of US$8.3 trillion will need to be invested in infrastructure over the next decade (2010–2020), amounting to US$750 billion per year.

The first dissemination seminar for this publication was held on 29 September and was attended by more than 100 delegates, including distinguished experts as speakers and panel discussants. Delegates and speakers took up an engaged discussion on the key messages of the book and regional infrastructure for Asia's economic integration. Those in attendance agreed upon the timeliness and relevance of the study given the current global and regional state of affairs and the book's focus on the soft infrastructure required to facilitate the hard infrastructure, promotion of a topdown in addition to a bottom-up approach, and its acknowledgement of the need for private sector participation in these large-scale projects.

Achieving a seamless infrastructure network in Asia will remain a pressing and important topic for the region and discussions will continue through a series of dissemination seminars held by ADB and ADBI in major cities across the Asia and Pacific region in the months to come.

See more details about the dissemination seminar.