PH TO HOST ASEAN+6 CONSTRUCTION FORUM

THE Philippines will be hosting an international construction forum next week with the aim of advancing Southeast Asian economic integration and making global players out of local and regional companies.

The Asean+6 Construction Forum, which will be held on October 25 2017 at the Solaire hotel in Paranaque City, will be attended by delegates from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ 10 member-states and dia- logue partners China, South Korea, Japan, India, Australia and New Zealand, the Trade department said.

The event, which is being supported by the Construction Industry Authority of the Philippines (CIAP) and the Asean Committee on Business and Investment Promotion (CBIP) of the Asean National Organizing Council, aims to ramp up infrastructure development in the region, the department added.

“We believe that this activity will serve as an avenue for identifying business opportunities and sharing of best practices from the participating countries, which we hope will lead to a successful networking and business matching among the construction industry players in the ASEAN,” Trade Undersecretary Ruth B. Castelo said.

The forum aims to engage stakeholders by cultivating relationships and identify- ing mechanisms to communicate updates on the progress of the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity (MPAC) 2025.

Officials also hope to mobilize existing resources with the aim of delivering support across the full life cycle of infrastructure projects and address the need for infrastructure spending to more than double from levels prior to the 1987 global financial crisis.

ANNA LEAH E. GONZALES