By Mar-Vic Cagurangan
Variety News Staff

THE Naval Facilities Engineering Command and the Joint Guam Program Office are expecting big attendance at the upcoming Guam Industry Forum, for which about 700 likely participants have registered as of this week.
With three more weeks before the event, forum organizers are predicting the registration number to reach the maximum capacity, or about 1,000 participants, before the registration closes on Aug. 20.
"This is an important milestone in the planning of how we will solicit and procure the expertise necessary to meet the infrastructure challenges for the proposed military buildup on Guam," Andy Wall, acquisition director for NAVFAC Marianas, said.
"It will be a great opportunity for local, national and multi-national companies to network and identify how they can participate in the buildup," Wall added.
Those who have signed up are business executives, individuals and industry representatives from across the U.S. mainland, Guam, Japan, the Philippines and Hong Kong, NAVFAC said.
The forum will be held in two venues — at the Sheraton Laguna Resort and the Hilton Guam Resort and Spa, simultaneously — on Aug. 23 and 24, and will be linked via Marianas Cable Vision fiber. Live presentations will alternate seamlessly between the hotels in real time on large projection screens.
The forum seeks to share the status of preliminary information and current actions related to military buildup on Guam; solicit industry comments and suggestions on the procurement approach; and integrate the findings from the forum into the buildup strategy to ensure the delivery of required infrastructure in the most efficient and effective manner.
"It is really important to stress that this forum is primarily about sharing ideas on how best to procure the engineering, planning and construction of the facilities that will support the increased military presence on Guam," Wall said.