Riyadh to conclude on positive note for Saudi MIP 2012

The final day saw thorough discussion on sectors such as Power, Water and Renewables wherein an overview of Power and Water projects was provided by MEED.

"With God's blessing, we have concluded the final day of the mega project marathon . It is clear that the challenges are immense in providing the know-how of the mega infrastructure projects. However, the experts of the region are more committed than ever in compliance of non-oil sector activities for its dynamics and flexibility in investments for accessing such large size projects. On the other hand, is the global warming concern which corresponds to the efficiency for large projects, adding to the immense challenge." said Consultant Engineer Faisal S. Alfadl, Founder of fa PARTNERS, Head of Organization Committee of Saudi MIP, said.

He added, "It has been concluded that Mega projects must have a continuous congresses such as this one to check imbalance in performance for the benefit of the local GDP. As, delegates foresee opportunities lying ahead through dialogues and discussions by delivering quality in counter to logistics such as labor law, material law, import and equipment availability as a way to achieve cost-effective budget along with promoting environmental sensitivity, long-term upgrading maintenance and durability. The Summit has ended on a note that there needs to be a platform or a link between big contractors and sub-contractors where they can come together and work in-sync with each other. This "think tank" is meant to act as bridge and avoid black marketing and promote exchange of labor, material and equipment."

About the Electricity sector, MEED Insight head of research Angus Hindley told the conference that Saudi Arabia's electricity demand would rise to about 90,000 MW in 2020. The kingdom is the largest electricity market in the Middle East.

"Electricity demand grew by 10% in 2010, reflecting strong growth in the kingdom's economy. The demand is still rising strongly and we expect it will be significantly higher than 120,000 MW in 2030," said, Head of the Independent Power Programme (IPP) at the Saudi Electricity Company, Amer Al Swaha.

Regarding the Green Building aspect of infrastructure industry, Ali U. Al Najim, Acting Chairman of Saudi Green Building Council, said, "I am here to talk about the World Green Building Week which we are celebrating in association with the World Green Building Council. The key role of the WGBW is to advocate the conservation of resources, saving money, creating jobs and creating healthier places to live work and play. In fact, the WGBC will unite 90 nations in September to promote the 'Green Building for great Community'."

Signifying a wider participation, Amir Syedain, Senior Assistant Group General manager, Head of Structure Debt Finance, Banque Saudi Fransi, said, "The Summit was very insightful and gave me a chance to meet the decision makers. The network is huge and what they are discussing here is the relevant is very relevant to the current status of the mega projects market."

According to Ahmed al Bader, Major Program, Management Expert, "There is a difference between project and program. The size, budget, number of stakeholders and consequences are relatively higher for a program as compared to project. The consequences of a program are far reaching and have a great impact than that of project. This distinction is very important to understand so that we know what kind of initiative we want to take in future."