Nearly 500 participants take part in Guam Industry Forum 2024

The Guam Industry Forum is underway this week. It’s a networking opportunity for stakeholders, as Guam and the Western Pacific experiences a construction boom with more than $11 billion earmarked for military expansion projects. 

The Guam Industry Forum kicking off to a smooth start Thursday at the Dusit Thani Guam Resort, as it attracts about 500 participants from businesses throughout Asia, the US, Guam and the Marianas. 

The two-day event, hosted by the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) Guam Post, is a networking opportunity for stakeholders to hear from Department of Defense leadership amid the military buildup across the region. 

NAVFAC Marianas commanding officer Captain Troy Brown said, "We did more construction for FY'24 on Guam than we did in FY'23. So coming out of Typhoon Mawar and executing more construction tells me we can continue the growth."

The SAME Guam Post says construction opportunities will exceed $2 billion a year in investments over the next decade in the Western Pacific, with an additional $1 billion allocated for defense system facilities in Guam and new facilities in the CNMI, the FSM and the Republic of Palau. 

President Jenny Bowers told KUAM News, "We need a lot of manpower, we need a lot of support from the industry. So I hope that this Guam Industry Forum that we are having right now and tomorrow will generate that attraction and tension from all the contractors and the professional services."

When asked if she was concerned with Guam’s labor shortage, especially with president-elect Donald Trump’s immigration plans, which could once again make it harder for foreign workers to enter the US on visas, she said, "I hope not, because Guam is at the center of the Pacific region. I hope the president-elect will not think that way. The importance of the people here on the island, especially the workforce development and the contractors, we need them to be here. We need the people to come here and help us, because that’s the only way we can accomplish the goal that everybody is talking about."

Meanwhile, Captain Brown says he’s been in many meetings with senior officials to discuss the H2-b labor challenges and even met with the undersecretary of defense twice this week. 

"We’re talking about those things and how do we craft the right path forward so we continue to be good partners with industries so you can find and get the right labor here to execute this work," he shared.

The forum aiming to explore that collaboration as it brings together construction contractors, architects, engineers, suppliers and service providers.  Ian Lam with architecture and engineering company AEPAC is among dozens with their booth set up at the event. 

"There's so much that’s coming and it’s all about teamwork. One of our sayings is teamwork makes the dream work so communications, collaboration and just working together. There’s just too much for any one team or firm to do, so in it to help the community, work with the local people and firms as much as we possibly can to get that job done," he said.

Day 2 of the forum will touch more on workforce issues, housing shortages and more.