DUBAI, 20 May 2014 - AHK, The German Emirati Joint Council for Industry & Commerce in Dubai, is hosting a two-day conference on the topic 'Turnkey Projects in the Gulf States' wherein over 100 prominent experts, practitioners and contractors have participated at the event in order to highlight and discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the industry in the UAE.
The two-day forum opens its doors at Shangri La Hotel in Dubai on Tuesday. The opening ceremony was graced by Saeed Al Ghorair, Vice Chairman of AHK Board of Directors & shift manager at emirates aluminium, UAE, Nikolai von Schoepff, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany, UAE, and Abdulaziz Al-Mikhlafi, Secretary General of Ghorfa Arab-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Germany, in the presence of leading business heavy weights and media members.
"Following the boom in the infrastructure and construction market in the GCC, the industry can now be valued at over $1 trillion. We, at AHK, feel that a forum of this sort will contribute to a balanced and responsible approach to present and upcoming opportunities in the region," said Dr Peter Goepfrich, CEO, AHK.
"Most of the projects were inclined on a turnkey and EPC basis (Engineering, Procurement and Construction). In recent decades, the Gulf countries have invested heavily and realized a significant increase in the capacity and quantity of the plants in the industrial production. They learned a lot about the power of the world's EPC bidders and insights into the strengths and weaknesses of the world-renowned EPC companies.” added Dr Peter Goepfrich. “Our aim behind organising the forum is to provide a platform to create better networking structure and sustainable partnerships, and to exchange ideas and understand the latest market trends."
“Given the easing of the market conditions and the persistent growth of the project market in the Gulf states, there definitely exists a window of opportunity for regaining market shares and winning projects for aspirants - including German companies,” noted Goepfrich.
On the first day of the conference, the esteemed panel of speakers deeply highlighted and analysed the current projects in the UAE, the criteria for selecting the best EPC partner, the EPC companies' point of view, and other related issues.
The second day's programme will commence from 9 a.m. till 2:30 p.m. followed by a presentation by Nakheel Projects and a boat tour around Palm Jumeirah (boat trip is subject to weather conditions).
The panel of speakers will consist of personalities from ABB Consultants, ADCO, alfanar Co., Aramco, BHF Bank, Bilfinger Deutsche Babcock, Dorsch Consultants, Dynamic Engineering Consultants, Germany Trade & Invest, Hyder Consulting, Johnson Controls, KFW IPEX, KSB Middle East FZE, Larsen & Toubro, Linde AG, MEVA Schallungssysteme GmbH, Quarry & Mining, RAK German Engineering, RTA, Samsung Engineering, Siemens, SMS Meer, Société Générale, Takamul Project Management Co., Thost Project Management, VDMA.
"The second day will deal with topics such as financing, legal perspective and suppliers' and sub-contractors' point of view. Following the networking luncheon the participants will be taken to Nakheel Sales Centre and thence for the Palm Jumeirah boat ride," Dr Goepfrich remarked.