Secretary Leandro Mendoza of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DoTC) will be the keynote speaker here next week during the annual conference and general assembly meeting of the International Network of Affiliated Ports (INAP).
The INAP conference, which will be held at the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center (SBECC) on October 28 to 29, is expected to include a series of direction-setting and planning workshops under the theme "Emerging Roles for Asian Ports."
The organization is composed of the ports of Subic and Cebu in the Philippines, Kochi in Japan, Mokpo in South Korea, Qingdao in China, Tanjung Perak in Indonesia, and Colombo in Sri Lanka.
Mendoza, whose department is responsible for the country's rail, air, sea and communications infrastructure, said the event "will serve as an opportune venue to discuss and exchange ideas on possible multilateral economic opportunities for local and foreign businesses."
The conference theme, Mendoza also said in a message to INAP, "manifests your strong commitment towards the development of ports and harbors in the Asian region."
Aside from addressing the INAP assembly, Mendoza is scheduled to open an exhibit on maritime-related industries and products at the SBECC on the first day of the meeting.
The INAP conference will be formally opened at 9 a.m. on October 28 by Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Administrator Armand Arreza, who will deliver the welcome address.
This will be followed by the opening remarks from Governor Masanao Ozaki, head of the Kochi prefectural government in Japan, who is also outgoing INAP chairman.
Other speakers on the first day of the conference include Arreza, who will make a presentation on the role of the Port of Subic in Northern Luzon trade, Secretary Eduardo Pamintuan of the Subic-Clark Alliance for Development (SCAD), and Edgardo Abesamis, president of the Subic Bay International Terminal Corp., operator of the New Container Terminal-1 in this free port.
On the second day of the conference, representatives of INAP member-ports will also present plenary reports. These include Capt. Perfecto Pacual, SBMA seaport manager; Angelo Verdan, general manager of Cebu Port Authority; Ozaki, for the Port of Kochi; Achmad Baroto, general manager of the Port of Tanjung Perak in Indonesia; and Byeong Soo Choi, chief executive officer of Mokpo Newport in South Korea.
Two other Asian ports are expected to join INAP during the Subic conference: the Port of Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia and the Port of Kaohsiung in Taiwan.
SBMA Chairman Feliciano Salonga is also scheduled to be elected chairman of INAP during the conference here, replacing Ozaki who was elected last year. (SBMA Corporate Communications)
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