Ingenieur Vol 71 ingenieur July 2017 | Page 66

Majority of proposed initiatives add value through enhanced coordination between existing ASEAN sectoral initiatives

Strong focus Some focus Limited focus

Sustainable infrastructure

Establish a rolling priority pipeline list of potential ASEAN infrastructure projects and sources of funds

Establish an ASEAN platform to measure and improve infrastructure productivity

Launch sustainable urbanisation strategies in ASEAN cities

Digital innovation

Enhance the MSME technology platform

Develop the ASEAN digital financial inclusion framework

Establish an ASEAN open data network

Establish an ASEAN digital data governance framework

Seamless logistics

Regulatory excellence

People mobility

Strengthen ASEAN competitiveness through enhanced trade routes and logistics

Enhance supply chain efficiency through addressing key chokepoints

Complete harmonisation of standards , mutual recognition , and technical regulations in three prioritised product groupings

Increase transparency and strengthen evaluation to reduce tradedistorting non-tariff measures

Enhance ASEAN travel by making finding information easier

Ease ASEAN travel by facilitating visa processes

Establish new vocational training programmes and common qualifications across ASEAN Member States , in accordance with national circumstances of each ASEAN Member State

Support higher education exchange across ASEAN Member States

Figure 3

iii . Co-ordination . MPAC 2025 helps ensure effective co-ordination of initiatives that cut across multiple working groups to maximise the likelihood of successful implementation . iv . Depth . For those initiatives that are considered important for connectivity , MPAC 2025 aims to maximise the likelihood of successful implementation by helping to add detail to the initiatives and outlining how to deal with potential barriers to success . v . Emphasis . For initiatives that are considered important for connectivity , and for which a clear action plan is already in place , MPAC 2025 seeks to highlight the importance of these initiatives . Across the 15 initiatives in MPAC 2025 , the main channel by which ASEAN Connectivity adds value to existing ASEAN sectoral work plans is through enhanced co-ordination across working groups , and also through adding additional depth to existing ASEAN sectoral work plans ( Figure 3 ).

SUSTAINABLE INFRASTRUCTURE

More than US $ 110 billion needs to be invested in infrastructure annually in ASEAN in order to meet the needs of the ASEAN Member States . This is roughly two to six times the annual amount spent historically . Not only does expenditure need to increase , but the productivity of the infrastructure itself needs to improve rapidly ; at the same time , new approaches to dealing with the growth of middleweight cities in ASEAN need to be implemented to ensure that their growth does not come at the expense of the environment or quality of life . The strategic objectives are :

64 VOL 71 JULY - SEPTEMBER 2017