The GMS East-West Corridor and Its Impact on Regional Development

The Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) cooperation has focused on economic corridor approach to development. The East-West Economic Corridor (EWEC) is one of the most recognized programs of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) within the GMS initiative. This development program is named after the physical linkages in the transportation network from East to West across four GMS Countries– Myanmar, Thailand, Lao PDR and Vietnam. This paper states the concept of three GMS corridors: the North-South Economic Corridor (NSEC), the East- West Economic Corridor (EWEC), and the Southern Economic Corridor (SEC). This paper is intended to analyse and assess the EWEC only. This paper also explains the Myanmar's transport system in the GMS and examines the opportunities and challenges of this corridor