NEWSFLASH

INTERNATIONAL AVIATION TRADE SHOW OPENS

Pasay City, June 29, 2000 - The country's first international aviation trade exhibition ‘Airport 2000’ opens today, Thursday, June 29, at the Philippine Trade Training Center (PTTC) on Roxas Blvd., Pasay City, with big local and foreign exhibitors participating.

Top management officials, bankers, and aviation experts will share their expertise in various forms during the three-day exhibition, which will showcase the biggest gathering of companies engaged in providing products and services to the more than $200-billion r aviation industry worldwide.

Transportation and Communication Secretary Vicente Rivera Jr. said Airport 2000 ill focus the attention of the international aviation industry on the Philippines.

Tremendous concern worldwide has been expressed lately on the need for modern aviation products and services to promote passenger safety and comfort, he said.

Several Asian countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, China, Thailand, Japan, and South Korea have invested heavily in the improvement of their airports to attract a bigger share of the world's travel market.

In the Philippines, foreign financial institutions like the Asian Development Bank, Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund, and Japan International Cooperative Agency are being tapped in the effort to improve the country's airports.

At Airport 2000, aviation experts will discuss various issues in the aviation industry, including the state of aviation development in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), international banking involvement in aviation, investment opportunities in the sector, and aviation experiences in major cities in Asia.

Thee biggest gathering of companies engaged in airport construction, engineering, aircraft maintenance, air traffic control, terminal design, security systems, airport operations, fire fighting, ground and cargo handling, and information display systems will showcase their products and services.

Other major firms engaged in in-flight catering, aerospace products, furniture systems, and aviation publications will present their goods at the exhibition organized by ADSI, Inc.

The exhibition is seen as an opportunity for the government and the private sector to get together in developing and modernizing the country's airports and is expected to focus world attention on the Philippines' capability to be a major aviation center in Asia.