A new publication charting the 44-year history of FIDIC’s Asia Pacific regional grouping offers a fascinating insight into the history, development and growth of ASPAC (now renamed FIDIC Asia Pacific) and the activities and events that have shaped it.
Inspired by their attendance at FIDIC’s Global Infrastructure Conference in Singapore earlier this year, a group of FIDIC’s Asia Pacific members decided that it would be a good idea to put together a chronicle of the 44-year journey from ASPAC to FIDIC Asia Pacific and the publication of ASPAC Story is the result. The new publication is an interesting read for established FIDIC members in the region as well as the latest entrants to the FIDIC family.
Illustrated by many photographs charting ASPAC’s history, ASPAC Story describes the early days of the grouping, including its formation at the FIDIC conference in Copenhagen in 1979 by five member associations from Australia, Singapore, New Zealand, Japan and Hong Kong. The publication details the development of ASPAC over the years, the key activities and events undertaken, its vision and mission and its growth into a vibrant organisation which today represents 22 national member associations which coordinate FIDIC activities in the Asia Pacific region.
Of particular interest are the photographs and comprehensive summary of key meetings and event highlights during ASPAC’s history, which paint a detailed picture of an organisation that has punched well above its weight in representing the consulting engineering industry in the Asia Pacific region for more than four decades.
The author of ASPAC Story, senior adviser to the Engineering and Consulting Firms Association Japan, Yoshi Yamashita, has done an outstanding job writing and compiling the publication. Credit is also due to Amitabha Ghosal, chair of the ASPAC editorial board, who first came up with the idea of publishing ASPAC’s story, and also Dilini Gamage, chair of ASPAC’s Future Leader Group, who designed the publication.
Commenting on the publication of ASPAC Story, Sudhir Dhawan, president of the FIDIC Asia Pacific board, said: “The consistent support and contributions by the member associations of the region has been the driving force behind bringing ASPAC to its current high level as a vibrant regional body of FIDIC, now renamed as FIDIC Asia Pacific. ASPAC Story chronicles a 40-year history of development and growth for an organisation that actively involves its member countries and has created an intimate relationship of understanding and cooperation among the regional member associations.”
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