The East–West Economic corridor (EWEC) is an economic development program initiated in order to promote development and integration of 5 Southeast Asian countries, namely: Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.
EWEC was launched at the Eighth GMS Ministerial Meeting held in Manila in 1998 as one of the flagship initiatives of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). It has adopted a holistic approach to developing a cost-effective way of instituting an efficient transport system for moving goods and people in the subregion, while simultaneously developing telecommunications and energy infrastructure, tourism, and a policy and regulatory environment that facilitates and encourages private sector development.
The corridor extends 1,320 kilometers (km) as a continuous land route between the Andaman Sea in the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea. The provinces bordering the corridor are as follows: In Viet Nam – Da Nang, Thua Thien Hue, and Quang Tri; in Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) – Dansavanh and Savannakhet; in Thailand – Mukdahan, Kuchinarai, Kalasin, Khon Kaen, Phitsanulok, Mae Sot, and Tak; and in Myanmar – Mawlamyline and Myawaddy.
