In light of the Covid-19 outbreak, this year’s World Tunnel Congress that was scheduled to be held in Malaysia from 15 to 21 May 2020 has been postponed. The event will now take place from 11 to 17 September 2020.
“The health and safety of our colleagues are of utmost importance to the ITA and IEM (the Malaysian Tunnelling Technical Group - ITA member nation in Malaysia),” said Ir. Dr Ooi Teik Aun, organising chairman of ITA- AITES WTC 2020. “After considering various possibilities, the development of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) in Asia Pacific as well as in Europe and other parts of the world leads us to shift the date of the WTC and associated events from 15-21 May 2020 to 11-17 September 2020.
“We know that, for some of you, this change of date may not be ideal; however, it seemed to us the best solution to be able to organise this major event for the entire tunnelling industry,” said Dr Ooi, expressing his sorrow.
The WTC 2020 organising committee, in cooperation with ITA, sponsors, exhibitors, lecturers, reviewers, ITA member nations, ITA working groups and committees have been working extensively for the past three years to create a successful event. However, it is not possible at the moment to predict how the Covid-19 situation evolves and many people could have been forced to not participate. In addition, the World Health Organization (WHO) currently recommends limiting mass gatherings.
The congress venue has been secured for September 2020 and the WTC 2020 organising committee said it is working with the hotels and all associated venues to make all the necessary changes accordingly. Dr Ooi added, “We will communicate with all to make these changes as smooth as possible. If you need specific documents, notably to change your flights and hotel booking, we will do our best to provide you with the requested documents.”
