3.4. Infrastructure development From at least as early as the mid-1980s until the onset of the 1997 economic crisis, Asian airline markets enjoyed the fastest traffic growth in the world. The rapid growth strained airport infrastructure across the region and made new airport investments a high priority for most Asian governments. More specifically, new or expanded airports came to regarded as critical to the regionals sustained growth, in keeping with the view that an ``airport is perhaps the most important single piece of infrastructure in the battle between cities and nations for influence in, and the benefits of, growth and development'' (OÕConnor and Scott, 1992, p. 241). The pace of airport investments by Southeast Asian governments accelerated during the 1990s