USTDA Regional Brief - South and Southeast Asia

USTDA advances economic development and U.S. commercial interests in developing and middle-income countries. The agency funds various forms of technical assistance, early investment analysis, training, orientation visits and business workshops that support the development of a modern infrastructure and a fair and open trading environment.

USTDA's strategic use of foreign assistance funds to support sound investment policy and decision-making in host countries creates an enabling environment for trade, investment and economic development. In carrying out its mission, USTDA gives emphasis to economic sectors that may benefit from U.S. exports of goods and services.

The following is an illustrative list of recent development projects that USTDA has supported in Asia:

Regional

E-Manifest APEC Pilot Project – USTDA is providing $601,893 for an APEC regional demonstration project, based at Vietnam Customs. Together with the National Center for APEC, with cost sharing from Unisys and FedEx in a public-private partnership, the project will help implement the World Customs Organization Framework to Secure and Facilitate Global Trade in the APEC region. The eManifest project demonstrated advanced customs clearance transactions for airfreight carriers designed to improve security risk management, timeliness, completeness and accuracy. It was highlighted during the APEC Leaders meeting in November 2006.

GNSS Testbed Demonstration Project – USTDA provided $675,000 to support technical assistance in the development of a global positioning system (GPS) demonstration testbed project in Southeast Asia. The project facilitates the research, development, acquisition, and implementation efforts of an air navigation system based on GPS and Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) technologies, and supports a uniform implementation of GPS throughout the APEC region.

Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System – Working with the respective national emergency management authorities in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, USTDA sponsored technology modernization and integration studies of the detection, warning processing and notification systems related to seismic, tsunami and weather events. USTDA support was carried out as part of the larger U.S. government efforts following the December 2004 tsunami.

India

U.S.-India Aviation Cooperation Program (ACP) – USTDA launched the ACP in 2007, together with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and U.S. aviation companies, to work directly with the Indian civil aviation sector on its modernization and safety priorities as it undergoes rapid growth. Under this public-private partnership with the Indian government USTDA has sponsored an Aviation Summit conference in New Delhi, a multi-phase Air Traffic Management Training Program, and technical workshops on certification of India’s satellite navigation system, GAGAN, and Air Traffic Flow Management (ATFM) practices. New projects, with substantial industry cost-sharing, are proposed with backing of Indian aviation authorities.

Sohagpur Coal Bed Methane Project – This $506,000 technical assistance cooperation with Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), a private Indian company and a leader in the effort to develop India’s coal bed methane (CBM) resources, supports development of the Sohagpur CBM project, which is slated to be the first commercial CBM project in India. India has prioritized the development of CBM as a means to meet the country’s growing energy demands utilizing domestic supply sources. Specifically, the grant assists RIL in assessing the market and gas infrastructure requirements for the commercial development of particular concession blocks.

Indonesia

Jakarta-Bandung Wireless Broadband Network Deployment – USTDA provided $388,000 for a feasibility study to PT Semesta Citra Media, a private Indonesian telecommunications firm, on the deployment of a wireless broadband network in the cities of Jakarta and Bandung in Indonesia, and the transportation corridor connecting these cities. Use of this technology is expected to increase economic activity in the Jakarta-Bandung corridor, considered to be the most important business district in the country.

Weh Island Transshipment Port – USTDA funding of $512,950 is partially funding a feasibility study on a proposed new transshipment facility, which would be located on the outskirts of the Strait of Malacca in northern Sumatra’s Aceh Province. It would provide shippers, including both oil tankers and container ships, with a strategic location to transfer cargo to smaller, regional vessels serving local markets throughout South and Southeast Asia. Continual growth of the shipping industry and the regional economy will require new facilities with the capacity to handle larger vessels; this study is assisting the Sabang Free Trade Zone and Free Port Authority (BPKS) in its efforts to develop such a terminal.

Pakistan

Habibullah Integrated Coal Mining / Power Generation Project – USTDA approved a grant in the amount of $810,000 to Habibullah Energy Limited to partially fund a $1.6 million feasibility study that will develop a plan for the reliable supply of coal to an appropriately located power plant in the Lakhra coalfields in Pakistan, and would also help determine the appropriate plant configuration and technology. The proposed 150 MW integrated coal mining and power project is a major private sector initiative that would help alleviate Pakistan’s present and growing power generation shortfall, and would be a major advance in the development of the country’s enormous but largely untapped coal resources.

Philippines

Unified Multipurpose ID System – USTDA is providing a $502,534 grant to partially finance a detailed feasibility study to help the National Statistics Office implement a national identification registry. This study would provide detailed identification system recommendations to improve both the efficiency and safety of transactions involving citizens and the government of the Philippines, as well as improve transparency in government operations.

Bay City Desalination Plant – USTDA is providing $416,567 to fund a feasibility study to review the legal, technical and financial merits of a proposed desalination plant for the Bay City development area in the Philippines. The Association of Manila Bay has requested funding to determine the engineering, equipment and financial needs of constructing the facility in order to meet the water demands of the area.

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka Oil and Gas Regulatory – USTDA is funding a $474,000 grant to the Ministry of Finance and Planning, which will assist the Ministry of Petroleum and Petroleum Resources Development in developing oil and gas regulations for the country’s nascent oil and gas industry. The grant will help Sri Lanka transition from a consumer-driven to a production-oriented oil and gas regulatory structure, based on the Sri Lankan government’s plans to open up promising offshore oil and gas blocks for exploration and development. The USTDA-funded technical assistance will also help to establish the organizational structure of the regulatory authority.

Thailand

Smart Corridor to Suvarnabhumi Airport – USTDA approved a $537,000 technical assistance grant to the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning (OTP) to improve transportation access to the new Suvarnabhumi Airport. The project will enhance mobility, safety and efficiency in an environment of growing traffic by utilizing intelligent transportation systems that contribute to the improvement of public transportation.

LNG Receiving Terminal – USTDA provided $667,000 to fund a study for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal for PTT Public Company Limited (PTT) in Thailand. This study is intended to help determine the most appropriate location for the LNG receiving terminals, identify the appropriate type of technology for the terminal and re-gasification facilities, and define the required level of investment for the project. PACE Global Energy Services, LLC (Fairfax, VA) completed this project.

Vietnam

Blocks B and 52 Gas Pipeline Project – USTDA signed a $591,000 agreement with PetroVietnam, the state-owned oil company, to provide expert assistance on financial feasibility and investment project structuring for the strategic Blocks B and 52 Gas Pipeline in the Gulf of Thailand. Unocal Corporation is also supporting the assessment of the proposed gas pipeline, which is expected to conclude in the formation of a joint venture arrangement among Unocal, PVN, and other private sector partners in an innovative public-private partnership.

Hanoi Securities Trading Center – USTDA approved a $422,000 grant to the State Securities Commission to aid in the development of a roadmap for expanding the Hanoi Securities Trading Center (HSTC) from its current size of ten registered companies to the projected size of 200 in 2007. This grant will also fund a technical visit by senior members of the HSTC and the Securities Commission to the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation System, other financial exchanges, and related private and public sector organizations.

Vietnam Airlines Core System Upgrade – USTDA approved $523,000 for a technical assistance to fund expert services to assist Vietnam Airlines in its core systems upgrade, helping it to meet the requirements of the International Air Traffic Association (IATA) program Simplifying the Business (StB) Program. This project will help VNA determine which of its systems need to be upgraded and replaced, as well as identify and outline new system solutions to be implemented.