Themed “Going Green, Digital and Smart, Financing Win-win Cooperation”, the 14th International Infrastructure Investment and Construction Forum (IIICF), co-organised by the China International Contractors Association and the Macau Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM), is slated to be held from tomorrow through Friday at The Venetian Macao Cotai Expo, according to a press conference yesterday.
Fang Qiuchen, chairman of the association, said in a speech during the press conference at Cotai Expo that the number of people participating in the forum will be double that of last year, with over 3,000 guests from over 60 countries and regions having been invited to attend the two-day forum, including ministerial-level officials, central government-owned enterprises’ representatives and the ENR’s top 250 international contractors, as well as senior executives from financial institutions, multinational corporations, international organisations and business associations.
Engineering News-Record (widely known as ENR) is a US weekly magazine that provides news, analysis, data and opinion for the construction industry worldwide. According to Wikipedia, it is widely regarded as one of the global construction industry’s most authoritative publications and is considered by many to be the “bible” of the industry.
Focusing on themes such as international cooperation on new energy and green transformation, smart rail transit and regional infrastructure, the forum featuring over 40 thematic events aims to “comprehensively” showcase the achievements and cooperation opportunities of green and sustainable development of the global infrastructure industry, according to Fang.
Fang said that a professional exhibition will be held for the first time, where large-scale infrastructure equipment, representative infrastructure projects such as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA), new materials, new technologies and new processes in the field of environmental protection will be on display through physical mock-ups or augmented reality (AR) technology, presenting the three major technological achievements in regional interconnectivity, low-carbon development technology, digitalisation, and innovation capabilities.
“It is the first large-scale and influential international forum to be held after the COVID-19 pandemic”, Fang said, adding that the forum aims to promote the development of Macau’s convention and exhibition industry, while also emphasising the combined features of Macau and Portuguese-speaking countries.
IPIM President Vincent U U Sang raised three new aspects, namely “new phase”, “new arrangements” and “new index”, saying that the forum shows a “significant” increase in the participation of overseas trade visitors, with this year’s exhibition area increased 1.5 times from 2,000 square metres to 5,000 square metres covering professional venues and exhibitions.
In addition to the participation of the Hengqin Guangdong-Macau In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, U said, 10 Macau enterprises and organisations will also be exhibiting for the first time, showing Macau entrepreneurs’ increased participation, which was expected to further help local enterprises keep abreast of the new international trends and seize new opportunities in infrastructure construction.
According to U, the forum will launch a separate report – “Portuguese-speaking Countries’ Infrastructure Development Index Report”, highlighting the role of the local government as a platform for cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, as well as further expanding the Index’s achievements and impact.
A parallel forum on “Green Development of Infrastructure Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries” will be held on Friday to facilitate the green and low-carbon development of infrastructure in the mainland, Macau and Portuguese-speaking countries, and also to discuss opportunities for new collaborative projects.
China International Contractors Association Chairman Fang Qiuchen (right) and Macau Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) President Vincent U U Sang look on during yesterday’s press conference about the two-day International Infrastructure Investment and Construction Forum (IIICF) at The Venetian Macao Cotai Expo, which starts tomorrow. – Photo: Yuki Lei
