To help accelerate investment in infrastructure in the region, the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025 (MPAC 2025), recommended the establishment of a rolling priority pipeline list of potential ASEAN infrastructure projects and sources of funds. With the technical assistance of the World Bank and the support of the ASEAN-Australia Development Cooperation Program Phase II (AADCP II), ASEAN has developed the Initial Pipeline of ASEAN Infrastructure Projects, which contains viable and sustainable infrastructure projects that have the potential to enhance the movement of people, services, goods, and innovations across ASEAN.

Since 2019, Network of ASEAN-China Think-tanks (NACT) has been publishing joint researches of all its Working Groups. This book is a collection of research papers contributed by ASEAN and China scholars.This book is published at a time of growing debate in the region over connectivity. The contributing scholars provide their ingenious and insightful thoughts from either a national or regional perspective. The book also contains Working Group Report that include innovative and practical policy recommendations on strengthening the connectivity between ASEAN and China.

ASEAN has a goal to create an economic community by 2015. To achieve the goal, connectivity among the member states needs to be given due importance. In 2010, ASEAN adopted the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity (MPAC), which looked at physical, institutional and people-to-people connectivity. It pinned down fifteen priority projects which can potentially transform the ASEAN region, providing the conditions for a single market and production base. But MPAC is an expensive initiative, and funding remains a major challenge. The private sector needs to be actively involved as a number of infrastructure projects identified in the MPAC are lacking substantial investment. This book looks at the current state of ASEAN's physical connectivity and challenges in building better infrastructure. It contains a collection of papers that discuss specific issues pertaining to each kind of physical connectivity - transportation infrastructure, telecom connectivity, ICT and energy infrastructure. The book concludes with the steps needed to be taken for implementation of the various plans, and policy recommendations.

The Master Plan presents a comprehensive 10-year strategy and action plan for improving the subregion’s transport linkages across the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) member states. It is intended to guide actions and promote synergies among various connectivity frameworks and help achieve sustainable development of the region. A specific framework is presented here for organizing a set of policies, strategies, and projects toward realizing a shared vision of peace, prosperity, and sustainability. With BIMSTEC’s unique geographical position as a bridge linking South and Southeast Asia, this document is also relevant to its neighboring regions. BIMSTEC was established as a regional organization in June 1997 to promote free trade within the region, increase cross-border investment and tourism, and promote technical cooperation.