The Knowledge to Decide

Traffic congestion in densely population Asian cities is nothing new. To address this growing menace, emerging Asian economies continue to invest heavily in new transport infrastructure in cities like Jakarta, Manila and Ho Chi Minh City. For instance, Manila suffered annual economic losses of USD18 million due to road congestion. According to a recent study, Southeast Asian emerging states under the Association of Southeast Asian Nations – excluding Laos, Brunei and Singapore – need an investment of USD147 billion each year in infrastructure through 2020 to maintain growth momentum. Will new infrastructure and traffic management technology address traffic congestion in emerging Asian economies? https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/spirethoughts/new-transport-systems-in-asian-cities-to-curb-traffic-congestion/

44 million people are being added to Southeast Asia’s urban population each year. As motor vehicle populations keep doubling every 5 to 7 years, what measures are being taken to tackle traffic congestion? Japnit Singh, Senior Director, Singapore and India of Spire Research and Consulting shared his insights in China Daily – Asia Weekly. Southeast Asia’s middle-class continues to boom, fuelling car population increases despite the relative lack of infrastructure. According to the Asian Development Bank, the region’s major cities suffer from some of the highest air pollution levels globally – as much as 80 per cent being attributable to road transport. Singh cautioned that building roads is not a solution, as this region faces severe practical limitations and escalating costs due to shortage of land in urban areas. In Bangkok for example, roads have the capacity for two million motor vehicles whereas five million ply the city’s roads each day. This has led to the military g