Industry leaders attend Dossier Construction’s Infrastructure Awards & Summit 2017

Leading names of the construction, infrastructure, real estate, manufacturing and design & engineering consultancies participated in the Dossier Construction’s Infrastructure Awards & Summit 2017, organized on 25th October at Sheraton Oman. This year marked the fifth edition of the event and was organized under the auspices of the Ministry of Transport & Communications, Ministry of Housing, and Public Authority for Electricity & Water (PAEW) and endorsed by the Special Economic Zone Authority Duqm, Public Establishment for Industrial Enterprises, and Qatar’s Public Works Authority (Ashghal).

The event was divided into two parts – Summit in the first half of the day and an Awards function in the evening.

His Excellency Najeeb Al-Rawas, Undersecretary, Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs was the chief guest at the summit and the Guest of Honour was His Excellency Dr. Eng. Saad bin Ahmad Al Muhannadi, President, The Public Works Authority (Ashghal), Qatar who also delivered the keynote speech. Ashghal is responsible for the planning, design, procurement, construction, delivery, and asset management of all infrastructure projects and public buildings in Qatar. The Summit was also graced by His Excellency Sheikh Salim Bin Mustahil Al Mashani, Vice-Chairman of the Muscat Overseas Group.

The Summit’s first session was a spotlight on Duqm, home to the biggest special economic zone in the Middle East. It comprised three presentations by Anwar Kahlan Al Battashi, Manager-Urban Planning, Special Economic Zone Authority Duqm, who focussed on updates and latest developments related to the Duqm master plan; Liao Zhenhua, Deputy General Manager, Oman Wanfang who presented in detail, about the Chinese consortium’s investment plans; and finally a presentation on the Port of Duqm by Talal Al Barwani, Sales & Marketing Specialist, Port of Duqm.

Following the spotlight on Duqm, Said Nasser Al Rashdi, CEO of Sandan Development presented the updates on two of the most unique projects -- Sandan Industrial Project and Myriad Muscat Project - and how they are expected to benefit the local business community.

The Summit also featured a panel discussion on ‘Emerging Business Opportunities in the Changing Economic Environment’ involving the top names from the industry including Khalid Al Mahrooqi, Founder & Managing Director of Premier Projects and Vice Chairman of Oman Green Building Council; Anwar Kahlan Al Battashi, Manager-Urban Planning, Special Economic Zone Authority Duqm; C.K. Khanna, GM-Corporate, Bahwan Engineering Company; Marco G. Malpiedi, Managing Director, ATKINS Oman; Ahmed Mohamed Al Humaidi, General Manager, Taameer Investment; Prafulla Gattani, Managing Director, Oman Porcelain Company; and Sridhar Sharma, General Manager - Oman, Schneider Electric who was also the moderator of the panel discussion.

The second session of the Summit witnessed six more presentations: Shailesh Patwari, President, Gujarat Chamber of Commerce & Industry, India who presented on ways to further strengthen economic co-operations between Indian and Omani private sector; Eng. Munir Khamis Al Hammadi, Construction Manager - Yibal Khuff Project, Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) who spoke about the Yibal Khuff Mega Project, one of the most complex and largest projects undertaken by the company; Sandeep Malhotra, Deputy General Manager, Bahwan Engineering Company (BEC) who presented on Oman’s efforts to phase out ozone depleting refrigerants; Manoj Varghese, Director of Development, Al Sedrah Real Estate, part of Golden Group Holding who gave an overview of their real estate arm and projects; Rohit Singhal, CEO, Masin Projects who talked about dispute settlements related to construction contracts; and finally, Ogbonna Ukuku, Executive Director - Nigeria, Global Chamber and CEO of ONS Triumph Ltd, who shared his thoughts on what makes Nigeria an interesting business proposition for the business community in Oman.

Later in the evening, the Awards function was held to felicitate the best industry performers, practices, technologies and projects. His Excellency Dr. Rashid bin Al Safi Al Huraibi, Chairman of the Tender Board, was the Chief Guest for the evening. The Awards function was also graced by His Excellency Sheikh Salim Bin Mustahil Al Mashani, Vice-Chairman of the Muscat Overseas Group.

Overall, 29 awards were presented to the deserving companies, professionals and industry leaders across various categories. The event culminated with the presentation of coveted ‘Business Leader of the Year Award’ to Sheikh Salim bin Ahmed Al Ghazali, Chairman of Golden Group Holding.

Leading names from the industry supported the event as sponsors and partners. Sohar Steel Group and Doka were the Platinum Sponsors; S&T Interiors & Contracting and Jindal Panther Rebars, were Gold Sponsors; Voltamp Energy, Power Partner for the event; Port of Duqm, was the Oil & Gas session sponsor; BEC Group, Carrier, OSCO, Ghantoot Group, Oman Porcelain, Kunooz Oman Holding, Middle East Engineering Solutions and Masin Projects, were the Silver Sponsors.

Arabia Falcon Insurance, was the Insurance Partner; Proscape, was the Support Partner; and F&M Middle East, was the Design Consultant Partner for the event. Dossier Construction’s Infrastructure Awards & Summit 2017 was also supported by Gujarat Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Embassy of Kenya, Advantage Austria, Atkins, Renardet and KEO.

Times of Oman and Al Shabiba were the Media Partners; Business International Group was the Light & Sound Partner; and RMP was the Print Support Partner.

The event is instituted by Dossier-Construction magazine, Oman’s first and only business-to-business (B2B) magazine on the construction sector, published by United Media Services. This year marked the fifth edition of the event.