Mr. Patrick Wong, Chairman of ASEAN Constructors’ Federation (ACF) and concurrently the President of Master Builders Association Malaysia (MBAM) chaired the 27^th ACF Council Meeting on Monday, 2^nd June 2008 in Boulevard, Hotel, Mid Valley City, Kuala Lumpur. Amongst the main highlight of the meeting was to discuss respective country report on the construction industry, integration issues with the ACF as a channel of communication, briefing on liberalization of services under ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services (AFAS) and the impact of the implementation of ASEAN Economic Committee in 2015.

ACF was established on 30^th May 1985 with its inaugural meeting held in Jakarta, Indonesia.  The purpose and objectives of ACF are:-

    a) To provide a forum for dialogue among the construction contractors in the ASEAN region through which to evolve a collective and more effective role for the construction industry in the economic development of the ASEAN region;

     b) To foster closer co-operation among the construction contractors in the ASEAN region and thereby promote joint ventures and joint operations for enhancement of their construction contracting capabilities through complementation and/or supplementation;

     c) To promote mutual consultation among construction contractors in the ASEAN region and thereby encourage exchange of information and know-how for improvement of construction technology and management, upgrading of construction labour skills and standards, and ultimately, advancement of the construction industry in the ASEAN region; and

     d) To unify efforts of the construction contractors in the ASEAN region in promoting export of construction services to countries outside of the ASEAN region, and to pool resources, if necessary or desirable, to attain the goal.

ACF was granted affiliation with the  ASEAN Secretariat  as a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) of ASEAN under the Committee on Industry, Mineral and Energy (COIME) at the 4^th Meeting of the ASEAN Standing Committee (ASC) held on 3^rd –5^th March 1987 in Singapore.

As of to-date, the ACF consists of six (6) countries member namely Indonesia Contractors Association (ICA), Philippines Constructors Association, Inc. (PCA), Singapore Contractors Association Ltd. (SCAL), Thai Contractors Association (TCA), Vietnam Association of Construction Contractors (VACC) and Master Builders Association Malaysia (MBAM).

Mr. Patrick Wong, Chairman of ACF said “This is  a follow up to the ACF meeting that was held last year also in Malaysia which is an important meeting for us as we are able to exchange views and share information through our various country reports. This sharing of information will enable us to sharpen our competitive edge in tackling the challenge of a competitive global construction market. Our focus right now would be to understand the immediate concerns of our ACF members and prepare a long-term plan to resolve common issues on a regional level as well as help to grow the construction market in this region.”

The ACF meeting in Malaysia will also open opportunities for ACF members to get the latest updates on construction opportunities in Malaysia arising from projects implementation under the 9^th Malaysia Plan (9MP), 2006-2010. “We strongly look forward to draw our collective strength and work together as a single unifying force to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes for our members. We look forward to initiate change in various issues affecting the construction industry in the region,” added Mr. Patrick Wong.

Mr Patrick Wong

Chairman  

ASEAN CONSTRUCTORS’` FEDERATION (ACF)

Dated: 2^nd June 2008