What is BIMP-EAGA?  

The Brunei Darussalam–Indonesia–Malaysia–Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area, or BIMP-EAGA, is a cooperation initiative established in 1994 to spur development in remote and less developed areas in the four participating Southeast Asian countries.

Map of Brunei Darussalam–Indonesia–Malaysia–Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area. Source: Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The subregion covers the entire sultanate of Brunei Darussalam; the provinces of Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Maluku, and West Papua of Indonesia; the states of Sabah and Sarawak and the federal territory of Labuan in Malaysia; and the island of Mindanao and the province of Palawan in the Philippines. These areas are geographically far from the national capitals, yet strategically close to each other. These states and provinces account for over 60% of the land area of the BIMP-EAGA countries; yet they make up about 18.8% of the total population and 18.4% of the labor force.

Through BIMP-EAGA, the four countries want to generate balanced and inclusive growth as well as contribute to regional economic integration in the ASEAN Economic Community. They want to boost trade, tourism, and investments by easing the movement of people, goods, and services across borders; making the best use of common infrastructure and natural resources; and taking the fullest advantage of economic complementation.

Thanks to strong ownership and commitment, as demonstrated by the financial, human and technical resources put in by the member governments, BIMP-EAGA has grown over the last 30 years.

In 2023, the subregion's gross domestic product (GDP) at current prices reached $401.6 billion, accounting for 18.2% of the four countries' combined GDP. Tourism continues to improve with arrivals increasing to 126.4 million in 2023 from 114.8 million in 2022. Domestic investments grew to $12.4 billion in 2023 from $9.5 billion in 2022, while foreign direct investment amounted to $19.5 billion last year. The trade balance was at $60.2 billion in 2023.

In the last 8 years, BIMP-EAGA’s rolling pipeline of priority infrastructure projects (PIPs) has increased to 210 from 57 in 2017, with 52 successfully completed and 158 in various stages of implementation. These projects include roads, railways and bridges, inland transport services, airports, seaports, power and energy infrastructure, information and communication technology (ICT), trade facilitation (including customs, immigration, quarantine, and security systems; economic zones; and industrial parks), and urban and border town development.