ICC to be ready for APEC meetings by September – organizers

ILOILO CITY, Philippines — Organizers of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings in Iloilo City have maintained that the Iloilo Convention Center (ICC) will be ready for the meetings despite a tight schedule in the completion of the project.

“We are banking on the assurance of the (Department of Public Works and Highways) that it will be ready when the meetings start on Sept. 21,” Junel Ann Divinagracia, executive director of the APEC local organizing committee, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

The building, including meeting halls and rooms, will be set up Sept. 16, according to Divinagracia.

The completion of the P747-million ICC has been delayed anew and is set to be turned over by the DPWH to the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA), an agency under the Department of Tourism (DOT), by the end of the month.

TIEZA recently awarded the contract for services of a professional congress organizer to Rajah Travel Services with an approved budget for the contract (ABC) of P4 million. It also awarded a contract with an ABC of P17,082,250 to Jan Carisse Enterprises for furniture and fixtures.

But the public bidding for the ICC’s site development and audio-video lighting system will still be conducted on Aug. 24.

The site development component ABC of P28,863,028.68 includes the construction of the building’s perimeter fence, guard houses, foundation, pylon signage, flagpole and parking areas.

The APEC’s scheduled events at the ICC include the Small and Medium Enterprise ministerial meeting on Sept. 21 to 25, disaster management on Sept. 22 to 23, and on food security on Sept. 28 to Oct. 6.

The ICC is being constructed on a 1.7-hectare property donated by giant property developer Megaworld Corp. at the 72-hectare Iloilo Business Park  in Mandurriao District here.

It is partly funded by the controversial Development Acceleration Fund (P100 million). The other funding came from TIEZA (P200 million), DPWH (P200 million) and P200 million from the Priority Development Assistance Fund of Senate President Franklin Drilon.

The organizing committee has backup venues in the unlikely event that the ICC will be not be ready, according to Divinagracia.

These include hotels with conference halls and the restored old Iloilo provincial capitol.

The organizing committee is also readying at least 100 volunteers and delegate coordinators that will help in hosting the meetings.

The volunteers and coordinators will undergo a four-day training to be undertaken by the Department of Foreign Affairs on diplomatic protocols and communication skills among others. (Nestor P. Burgos Jr., Inquirer Visayas)