SUBIC BAY FREEPORT -- Top officials from different cruise ship terminals in Asia, including the biggest port in the world, will attend the second Pro-Tem Committee meeting of the Asia Cruise Terminal Association (Acta) here.
Representatives from the International Cruise Terminal Development Co. Ltd., which oversees Shanghai Wu Song Kou port and currently the world's largest port, will be joined by delegates from Singapore, Japan and Malaysia in the committee meeting.
Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), which is a founding member of Acta, will be represented by Raul Marcelo, the agency's deputy administrator for business, and Captain Perfecto Pascual, general manager of the SBMA Seaport Department.
Marcelo said the meeting will be held in preparation for Acta's formal launch this October.
Marcelo said that as part of SBMA's thrust to make Subic Bay a prime logistics, maritime and tourist hub, the agency will facilitate the development of Subic as a cruise ship destination by being an active member of Acta.
"The Subic meeting will also serve as a venue for the validation and ratification of the Acta constitution and by-laws, which was discussed during the first Pro-Tem meeting in Singapore," added Marcelo, who was there to represent Subic along with Pascual.
Acta is a non-profit organization created in response to a need for common understanding among owners and operators of cruise terminals and ports across Asia to upgrade to an international level of services and operations that cruise lines expect.
The association aims to provide for a cruise-friendly environment and a vehicle for regional cooperation in terminal development, operations and management.
The group also seeks to promote cruise terminal facilities and services internationally, targeting to establish an influential alliance leading to the emergence of a captivating Asia cruise playground.
The Pro-Tem committee, he explained, acts as an interim committee, which oversees Acta before its formal launch. (Anthony Bayarong)
