Civils Infrastructure – Where Does the Future Lie?

Posted by Jonathan Chu on Wednesday, July 15, 2015

The construction market, just like any market, is cyclical – it has its ups and downs. Hence, the question for many ambitious engineers will be – where should I go to take advantage of the best projects and career opportunities?

Asia? For Real?


Why not? Asia has about 60% of the world’s population and remains one of the most vibrant regions around the globe. However, because of a lack of funds, the infrastructure in some Asian countries is still far from satisfactory. In 2010, The Asian Development Bank Institute published a report, saying that Asia would need a total input of US$8 trillion for infrastructure to keep the economy going from 2010 - 2020. This incredibly large sum of money is unlikely to be afforded by ADB or IMF, thus giving rise to the establishment of another bank – the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

AIIB is an international financial institution led by the Chinese government, who has been frustrated with the fact that existing financial bodies were allegedly dominated by American and European and Japanese interests and would like to exert its economic and thus political influence worldwide. As of April 15 2015, there are 57 Prospective Founding Members with powers like the UK, Germany involved. In short, AIIB is going to spend BIG on the Asian Infrastructure in the near future.

Infrastructure in Asia – the beneficiary as a result of international politics


It is worthwhile to note that Japan (historically an old enemy of China) is not a part of AIIB. And when the China-led AIIB announced its plan to fund Asian Infrastructure with US$100 Billion, it is perhaps not a coincidence Japan announced its plan to fund Asian Infrastructure with US$110 Billion in the next 5 years. Could it be the case Japan and AIIB are competing to show off their respective financial powers? Possibly…Or is it a remedial measure by the Abe government to calm the restless Japanese construction corporations from the lost business as a result of missing out the AIIB? Possibly…however, if the international powers decide to use the Asian Infrastructure front to contest their soft powers, there is only one winner – imagine the funds into Asia, and the many possible civil infrastructure projects it will assume…

So, engineers! Will Asia be your career destination of choice?

Why not review the excellent job opportunities available in the Asian region on our website; but also take a look at the roles in the other parts of the world too – the world is your oyster!

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Jonathan Chu
Maxim Recruitment
Hong Kong and Asia Region