Suvarnabhumi Airport, Thailand

Introduction to Structures in South East Asia

The Southeast Asian Nations known as ASEAN comprises ten countries; Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Infrastructure development in South East Asia has sustained and supported fast economic growth and the well being of the people over the past few decades. Investment and construction of infrastructure such as roads, bridges, railways, airports, seaports, power plant and sewage systems have contributed significantly to the sustainable development of the region. Bridge and structural engineers have played an important role in the development of planning, designing and execution of these projects. With substantial demand for public and civil engineering work, especially of infrastructure of mega projects, they have shown remarkable modernization in construction techniques and management to improve production, material properties and structural performance to satisfy service life and safety criteria. This issue of Structural Engineering International illustrates some outstanding structures in ASEAN countries covering planning, design, execution, operation and maintenance. Among 14 outstanding projects there are 8 bridges, 6 buildings and other types of structure. The structural systems for each project are quite interesting techniques adapted for local conditions and embracing modern technology. The papers are well distributed over the region, with 6 out of 10 countries represented to demonstrate the importance of structural engineering in this region. The Thai Group of IABSE will welcome the IABSE Symposium and the annual meetings to Bangkok, Thailand in September 2009. The theme of the IABSE Symposium is “Sustainable Infrastructure, Environment Friendly, Safe and Resource Efficient”. The symposium aims to provide a forum for academics, researchers and practitioners around the world to exchange views and experiences on how to achieve sustainable...