Asean Integration and Membership Top Agenda at Construction Summit

• 31 December 2015
• Association Focus
• 862 Views

ASEAN’s upcoming economic integration has stepped up the pressure on the ASEAN Constructors Federation (ACF) to speed up work on harmonizing the construction industry across the bloc. At its April meeting, the ACF also discussed bringing new members on board.

On the April 4 council meeting of the ACF in Ho Chi Minh City, economic integration and cross-border harmonization were near the top of the agenda. The association would like to harmonize the skills of construction workers across the region via the ACSTSTprogram, which would train workers and promote construction-related standards in the region. This is no small feat.

But outcomes have been slow due to the program’s complicated procedures and need for multiple parties to get on board. One requirement is the participation and assistance of the ASEAN secretariat, the International Labor Organization (ILO) and various private associations willing to promote the building industry like the Singapore-based Temasek Foundation.

The ACF would also like to have a directory that will have information on all construction-related businesses in ASEAN countries in one place. ACF members all offered their support to this endeavor. The secretariat began seeking a qualified party to manage the publication last year.

But at this 38th council meeting, hosted by the Vietnam Association of Construction Contractors (VACC), there were a wide ranges of issues discussed, including membership and bringing three ASEAN members on board.

The ACF secretariat has been trying over the last two years to convince the flagship building associations in Myanmar, Laos and Brunei to join the federation.

Myanmar, represented by the Myanmar Construction Entrepreneurs Association (MCEA), has confirmed it is interested in joining and has submitted the required documents and registration materials. The hope is that it will be granted official membership at the next ACF meeting.

Despite expressions of interest from Laos about membership, progress has been slow. An initiative to bring Laos on board began at the 36th meeting, but the country is still setting up its main construction association. It is unlikely that Laos will be part of the ACF at the next meeting.

Brunei has said it isn’t ready to join at the current time due to limited resources and that it needs more time for preparation.

The secretariat has now been following up with Myanmar to ensure it can join the team on time for the next meeting while the Thai Constructors Association (TCA) has been assigned to follow-up with Laos on its progress toward membership.

Talks at the council meeting also focused on the ACF website update. SingaporeContractorsAssociation Limited (SCAL) has taken the lead in this area, updating thewebsiteand encouraging memberstosupplydataandnewsfor it. The site is meant to be an information-sharing platform as well as a tool to let others know more about ACF and its activities.

Financials were also discussed and it was announced that at the end of 2013, the ACF has seen US$100,302 in revenue since its inception. Annual membership fees for each member are US$1,000 and the federation’s net balance keeps growing since the host association usually handle most of the expenses of the meetings.

The 39th council meeting in October will be held in Malaysia and chaired by the Master Builders Association of Malaysia (MBAM).

ACF councils meet twice annually, usually in April and October. Venues are elected among the seven nations.

The ASEAN Constructors Federation was established on May 30, 1985 and held its inaugural meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia. The seven constructors associations representing the private construction-related companies in ASEAN are: the Cambodia Constructors Association (CCA), the Indonesian Constructors Association (ICA), the Master Builders Association Malaysia (MBAM), the Philippine Constructors Association (PCA), Singapore Contractors Association Limited (SCAL), the Thai Contractors Association (TCA), and the Vietnam Association of Construction Contractors (VACC).