Dubai Maritime City to support conference on coastal and port engineering

The event to be organised jointly by the Municipality and the Brussels-based International Navigation Association (PIANC) early next year.

The conference and a concurrent exhibition of products and services will be held during 24-28 February 2008 at the Intercontinental Hotel in Dubai Festival City under the patronage of Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, UAE Minister of Finance and Industry and Chairman of Dubai Municipality.
Farhan Al Marzouqi, Head of Media Section at Dubai Municipality's Public Relations & Organisations Department, who also heads the media committee of the event, said the support of nationally-owned companies and establishments like Dubai Maritime City to this event underscores their commitment in making this significant event a great success.

"We are pleased to welcome Dubai Maritime City as one of the important supporters of this event which is regarded as the largest international event in the field of coastal and port engineering in terms of the number of participants, the papers it is going to discuss and the opportunities it provides for exchange of expertise and knowledge between the developed and developing worlds," said Al Marzouqi.

He noted that the conference comes at a crucial time as the Arabian Gulf braces for $100bn worth waterfront developments. All countries of the region including the UAE, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are planning ambitious coastal projects that attract global attention.

He added that the event will consider ways of enabling developing countries to achieve a sustainable pool of professionals in these fields. Papers to be presented in the conference will concentrate on practical applications and managerial and environmental aspects of coastal and port engineering in developing countries, including documentation of case studies.

Nawfal Al Jourani, Chief Marketing Officer at Dubai Maritime City, said the Maritime City is pleased to sponsor this international conference which is being held for the first time in the United Arab Emirates.

"Our support to this event comes in line with the organisation's strategy in supporting every initiative aimed at enhancing the country's maritime sector. This conference will enable engineers and professionals from the country as well as abroad to equip themselves with specialised skills in the fields of port engineering and coastal management," said Al Jourani.

The event will bring together over 1000 marine engineers and scientists from around the world to exchange know-how and experience. An International panel of renowned marine scientists has already selected some 226 papers from 43 countries which display scientific excellence and appropriateness to the conference themes. Several papers deal with the ambitious marine activities in Dubai in particular and in the Arabian Gulf in general.