AMERICAN ENGINEERS BREAK GROUND IN ASIAN INFRASTRUCTURE MARKETS WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 /PRNewswire - AsiaNet/ -- America's consulting engineering profession joined together this week with the U.S. government to establish an office in Manila, the Philippines, that will work to identify Asian firms interested in partnering with U.S. consulting engineers and projects suitable for U.S. technological transfer. The new office was established through a partnership between the Research and Management Foundation of the American Consulting Engineers Council (ACEC/RMF), and the United States-Asia Environmental Partnership (USAEP) of the U.S. Agency for International Development. ACEC is the largest association in the U.S. representing private engineering firms. ACEC's 5,700 members firms disign more than $100 billion in public and private infrastructure annually. The opening ceremonies were attended by the U.S. ambassador to The Philippines, Thomas C. Hubbard, key USAEP representatives, members of the Consulting Engineers Council of the Philippines, and U.S. firms operating in the Philippines. Despite current economic concerns in Asia, many economists predict that this region will overcome its current difficulties and continue to grow over the next few years, requiring more infrastructure development than anywhere else. ACEC's president, James R. Thomas, Jr.,who presided over the opening ceremonies at the Manila office, explained, "Clean water, adequate waste disposal, good structural engineering , energy and transporation systems are crucial to sustainable economic growth. Consulting engineers provide the expertise to design the most efficient and cost-effective solutions to these problems." SOURCE American Consulting Engineers Council -0- 12/16/97CONTACT: Lynne Damon or Sally Thompson of ACEC/RMF, 202-347-7474, fax, 202-898-0068, or e-mail, [email protected]. To contact the new Manila office, call 632-899-7328/-End-