New wave of Qatar projects to boost widespread adoption of BIM solutions among contractors

At this stage, consultants are at their busiest and contractors are gearing up for tenders, busy preparing bids and eagerly awaiting award announcements which are likely to reach $25 - 30bn a year, making Qatar the leading and fastest growing projects market in the world.

These developments will be comprehensively discussed at the forthcoming Qatar Projects 2013, held under the patronage of His Excellency Dr Mohammed bin Saleh Al-sada, Minister of Energy and Industry, Qatar; and Chairman & Managing Director of Qatar Petroleum, who will also deliver a keynote speech at the event on 18th February 2013.

Supported by Qatar Petroleum, Qatar Chamber and Public Works Authority (Ashghal), Qatar Projects features a comprehensive overview of the critical projects that are currently being developed as well as those that will be awarded as the country gears up for its biggest event yet. The conference is scheduled to take place at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Doha from February 17-20, 2013.

"Contractors will be competing for the lion's share of the massive projects that have yet to be awarded. One way to ensure a competitive pitch is to adopt Building Information Modeling (BIM) solutions,"

said Louay Dahmash, Middle East Territory Sales Director, Autodesk.

"3D building software has seen widespread adoption among contractors and project developers in the region. In the past year, Autodesk has experienced double-digit growth in Qatar, as well as across the Middle East and Africa. Autodesk and our network of more than 80 channel partners across region are helping companies adopt BIM. For example, by adopting Autodesk BIM solutions, Amana Contracting & Steel Buildings has accelerated its drawing production time by over a month." 

Autodesk, a world leader in 3D design, engineering and entertainment software, is a bronze sponsor of Qatar Projects 2013; it counts Robert Bird Group, Dar al Riyadh and Saudi Diyar as some of its BIM customers in the region.

According to Dahmash, Autodesk's BIM portfolio provides contractors with presentation tools that are critical to securing contracts.

"Present a client with a photo-realistic, 3D image of their proposed project and they will be impressed. Quantities can be calculated at these very early stages to begin costing and ensure the job is feasible," he added.

Qatar Projects 2013 will provide not just insights and information about the projects industry in Qatar, but important networking opportunities for all participants. In addition to Qatar Petroleum, Qatar Chamber and the Public Works Authority (Ashghal), Qatar Projects 2013 is being supported by International Bank of Qatar (IBQ) as Platinum sponsor; United Development Company (UDC) as Strategic Partner; Qatar Islamic Bank and Kharafi National as Gold Sponsors; Mashreq as Silver Sponsor; Qatar Insurance Company, Brookfield Multiplex, Black Cat and Autodesk as Bronze Sponsors. Metito, Drake & Scull, as well as Qatar Financial Centre Authority are on board as Conference Sponsors.

Patton Boggs and SSH have signed up as Lunch Sponsors of the event; while Seib Insurance and Reinsurance is the Breakfast Sponsor.