On behalf of HE Fahmi bin Ali Al Jowder, Minister of Works and Minister in Charge of the Electricity and Water Authority, HE Nayef Omar Al-Kalali, Undersecretary of Public Works Affairs at the Ministry of Works, will deliver the keynote address at the opening ceremony of the ‘Dawn of a new era: Paradigm shift in Project Management’ event. The event - the 12th International Conference, Seminars and Exhibition of the Project Management Institute – Arabian Gulf Chapter (PMI-AGC) - is being held under the patronage of HH Shaikh Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain from 27-29 January at the Gulf Hotel.
“This event will focus on innovative approaches to Project Management in light of the workload, opportunities and challenges facing the region and the aims of this year’s conference are to promote Project Management fundamentals and practices in the region as well as discuss the role of Project Management in planning and executing projects,” said Mr Al-Kalali.
The conference incorporates a Technical Program on Wednesday 28 January which will include 12 technical presentations in parallel tracks and special presentations on featured projects as well as a panel discussion on the financial crisis and impact on projects in the region. The program on Thursday 29 January includes a further 12 technical presentations as well as a feature presentation on the Project Management Offices (PMO) of the Ministry of Works in the Kingdom of Bahrain and another presentation on Jeddah Municipality in Saudi Arabia.
Other keynote speakers at the Conference Exhibit Inauguration and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony, which begins at 7:30pm on 27 January include Mr Greg Balestrero, CEO of the Project Management Institute (PMI), USA; Mr Ali A Al-Ajmi, Vice President, King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (KAUST) Project Management, Saudi Aramco, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Dr Nahed Taher, CEO, Gulf One Investment Bank, Kingdom of Bahrain; and Mr Ahmad S. Al-Nasser, President, PMO-Arabian Gulf Chapter will provide the PMI-AGC President Remarks.
Keynote and featured speakers for Wednesday 28 January include Welcome Remarks from Mr Hashim Al-Rifaai, Conference Chairman, PMI-AGC; Mr Kim S Allen, Associate Director, Construction Industry Institute (CII), USA; Dr Dalton Garis, Professor of Economics & Columnist, Oil and Gas Petrochemical Institute, Abu Dhabi, UAE;
The Ministry of Works, a ministry fully aligned with Bahrain Vision 2030, will showcase its experience in introducing Project Management and Ebrahim Hassan Al Hawaj, Director of Sanitary Engineering Operations and Maintenance will present on behalf of the Ministry on Thursday 29 January.
“We will outline our achievements, developments and ongoing tasks and challenges which correspond to three goals we set earlier to introduce Project Management. These were to develop a Project Management System (PMS), to put in place a ‘projects based’ organisation, and to ensure the adoption of a consistent and integrated approach to managing all projects," said Mr. Al Hawaj.
“Unprecedented levels of infrastructure development activity across the region have made it essential to manage the way in which we conduct business and we aim to use this forum to highlight the need for the changes which we have implemented. These included the need to establish a Project Management Office (PMO) and set a career path for our Project Managers. In addition we will share our insight on how we are managing the intricacies of adopting project management principles within our organisation,” added Mr Al Hawaj.
The PMO at the Ministry of Works is a Centre of Excellence for project management. It defines and maintains standards for project management and strives to standardise and introduce economies of repetition in executing projects. In addition it is a source of documentation, guidance and metrics on the practice of project management and execution. It also disseminates knowledge and offers PMS training and is entrusted to seek out continuous process improvements.
The PMS is used on all of the Ministry’s large projects where a high level of expertise is required. It ensures that projects are completed on time, within budget and with a high quality in the most efficient way possible.
Running alongside the three day conference will be an exhibition showcasing Project Management software, consulting, engineering, construction, IT, Telecommunications and other services. A number of conference tutorial sessions covering diverse aspects of Project Management will also be held. More information on the event can be found at
www.pmi-agc.com.
