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The United States-Asia Environmental Partnership
(US-AEP), together with the American Consulting Engineers
Council (ACEC), has launched a program to enhance the development of viable
environmental infrastructure facilities in Asia. This initiative facilitates
public-private partnerships that link the growing environmental infrastructure needs in
Asia with U.S. environmental technology, services, and management techniques. The program
defines environmental infrastructure to include four principal sectors, namely water
supply, wastewater treatment, and solid and hazardous waste management.
What are the initiative’s
primary goals?
- Foster the development of environmental infrastructure facilities
in Asia
- Help build partnerships between U.S. and Asian private sector
companies
- Enhance relationships between ACEC and Asia-based consulting
engineering associations through the International Federation of Consulting Engineers
(FIDIC)
- Promote the transfer of U.S. environmental technologies and
services
- Catalyze multilateral and private sector financing for
environmental infrastructure projects in the Asia-Pacific region
How will ACEC achieve these goals?
ACEC believes that U.S. environmental technologies,
services, and management techniques can help stem environmental degradation and maximize
the potential for environmentally sound, sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific
region. Private participation in financing, design, construction, and operation of
facilities can help governments respond to the demands of a rapidly growing population,
halt environmental destruction due to rapid industrialization and urbanization, and
improve the efficiency of state-owned enterprises.
Through partnerships with ACEC and U.S. firms,
private sector companies in Asia can access the technical, financial, and management
resources needed to develop and build projects. Access to these resources can be obtained
through two bases of operations for ACEC — its national headquarters in Washington,
DC, and the soon-to-open ACEC Asia regional office. Both locations have an extensive
database of U.S. firms cross-matched by type of expertise and country-specific experience.
The partnerships and transfers between U.S. and Asian firms also extend to private
financing sources and project developers.
The ACEC Asia Regional Director will work closely
with the twelve US-AEP offices in the region and the four Urban Environmental
Infrastructure offices in Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and India. These offices
will work actively with the ACEC regional office to bring viable projects to qualified
host-country firms and partner them with U.S. firms in the region. US-AEP will also be
working to bring infrastructure privatization models and viable BOO/BOT methods from one
US-AEP-presence country to another.
Through the Asia regional office, ACEC will promote
the use of partnerships, joint ventures, and strategic alliances between U.S. and Asian
firms, and close collaboration with national and local government agencies. Such
public/private partnerships are vital to the delivery of municipal services in Asia. They
also help to facilitate the exchange of common practices in procurement techniques,
business management, and project financing.
ACEC has been the U.S. member of the International
Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) since the early 1960s. A history of
international cooperation and understanding through FIDIC will be used to enhance
relationships with the Asia-based consulting engineering associations. Potential
cooperative activities with FIDIC members include:
- Co-sponsoring joint/bilateral meetings, seminars, and technical
exchanges in order to promote matchmaking between firms.
- Establishing a working relationship with regional or country-based
industry and financial groups, as well as private sector developers that are active in the
region.
- Working in concert with several associations to promote the
interests of consulting engineering and to encourage the effective use of private sector
capabilities and resources.
About the implementing and
sponsoring organizations:
The American
Consulting Engineers Council, a federation of 52 state and regional councils, is a
national trade association representing over 5,000 U.S. private-practice consulting
engineering firms. These companies employ nearly 200,000 engineers, scientists, land
surveyors, technicians and others who annually design more than $100 billion in
constructed public works and private industry facilities. Member firms offer a wide
diversity of professional services across all engineering disciplines. ACEC’s primary
goals are to strengthen the business environment and image of member firms, focusing on
quality professional services in a competitive global marketplace. ACEC assists member
firms in achieving higher professional and business practice standards and stimulates
public awareness of the contributions of engineers to society.
Led by the United
States Agency for International Development (USAID), US-AEP was founded in 1992 to
assist in addressing environmental degradation and sustainable development issues in the
Asia/Pacific region by mobilizing U.S. environmental experience, technology, and practice.
The program brings together 25 U.S. government departments and agencies, businesses and
non-governmental organizations that work with 34 nations and territories in Asia and the
Pacific. US-AEP activities are focused on the objective of promoting an Asian "clean
revolution" — the extensive continuing development and adoption of ever less
polluting and more resource efficient products, processes, and services in the Asian
region.
For more information, please
contact:
American Consulting Engineers Council
International Affairs Program
1015 15th St NW, Suite 802
Washington, DC 20005
Tel: 202-347-7474
Fax: 202-842-2436
E-mail: intl@acec.org
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