Asean Secretary-General Ong Keng Yong said transportation ministers in the group will firm up details of an agreement at the 12th Asean summit in Cebu, Philippines, on Dec 10-14 this year and leaders will approve them at the same meeting.

"We are agreeing among ourselves that by 2008, air travel should be opened up. By the end of the conference in Cebu, our leaders should have a clear decision on opening up the air travel sector," Ong told Dow Jones Newswires on the sidelines of a meeting of Asean finance ministers.

He said the Cebu conference will discuss how the Asean members could cut red tape in the airline industry, allow more foreign investments in airlines and create more flight connections between more cities in the region.

Ong cited tourism officials in the region as saying that liberalization could lead to a 50 percent increase in the number of air travelers among Asean countries in the next few years.

Ong said airlines, especially budget airlines, have been lobbying Asean for the liberalization of the industry in the region.

Besides air travel, Ong said the group will also discuss ways to liberalize various industries, including healthcare, tourism and banking.

Asean consists of Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Brunei Darrusalam, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia.