GAMA Group of Africa Member Associations 2006 regional conference
[full item: 47Ev]
Africa's 2006 consulting engineering regional conference organized by the FIDIC GAMA Group of Africa Member Associations takes place in Bagamoyo, Tanzania, near the capital Dar-es-Salaam, on 2-5 April 2006 (see www.acet.or.tz). In addition to senior bank officials, FIDIC will also be represented by Jorge Díaz Padilla, FIDIC President, and Enrico Vink, FIDIC Managing Director. The conference will focus on private sector development and the role of the African Development Bank under the NEPAD - African Union framework. FIDIC is keen to support as much as possible such initiatives, in order to achieve strategic goals of an improved and sustainable consulting industry in the region. Other initiatives being explored include the concept of business schools in Nigeria and Kenya offering training to local firms. FIDIC training is already being offered through the SAACE-South Africa School of Consulting Engineering (www.saace.co.za/school. |
Forthcoming visits and meetings
[full item: 32Ev]
ISO Sustainable Construction Working Groups, UK, 8-9 Jan 2006
FIDIC-JCC-ECV Dispute Resolution Course, Barbados 30-31 Jan 2006
FIDIC-ESCONE-CRCICA Contracts Seminar, Cairo, Feb 2006
FIDIC-IRSCE Capacity Building Seminar: PSM, Tehran, 18-19 Feb 2006
FIDIC-Cornerstone Contracts Workshop, Copenhagen 27-28 Feb 2006
Adjudicators Assessment Workshop, UK, Mar 2006
FIDIC-ASPAC-TCDPAP Conference, Dhaka, 5-8 Mar 2006
FIDIC-ECV Contracts Course, Bucharest 27-28 Mar 2006
GAMA Annual Conference, Bagamoyo, Tanzania, 2-5 Apr 2006
ACET-Tanzania Capacity Building seminar, Bagamoyo, Tanzania, April 2006
FIDIC-Cornerstone Contracts Workshop, Cairo 25-26 Apr 2006 |
Translations of the Harmonised Construction Contract envisaged
[full item: 53Co]
To meet the demand, several organizations have already indicated that they plan to translate the recently published (May 2005) Multilateral Development Bank (MDB) Harmonised Edition of the FIDIC Construction Contract (see News item). The Interamerican Development Bank, a participating bank licenced by FIDIC, plans a Spanish version and CNAEC-China is seeking permission to publish a Chinese version. Several other Member Associations have also approached FIDIC. Under the terms of the licence agreement, a participating bank can, with FIDIC's permission, authorise translation provided the translation is made available at no charge to FIDIC and the other participating banks.
All of the major MDBs have now signed licence agreements to use the Harmonised Edition on bank-funded projects. The benefits are huge, in terms of costs savings to lenders, borrowers and consultants in reducing unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles. The consulting engineering industry will now be able to work with greater certainty, knowing that MDBs will be using, wherever possible, similar procurement documentation based on the popular FIDIC Construction Contract. Only the Nordic Development Fund (NDF) has announced that it will not now sign the agreement since the fund will be wound up (see News item). The NDF will honour all commitments and as a strong supporter of procurement harmonisation, will advise clients to obtain Works contracts from FIDIC. |
Adjudicators Assessment Workshop planned
[full item: 54Co]
The FIDIC President's List of Approved Dispute Adjudicators was set up so that FIDIC could appoint experienced adjudicators when required to do so under the terms of a FIDIC contract. Successful applicants must be FIDIC members, either through a FIDIC Member Association or via Affiliate or Sustaining Membership, and have passed a two and one-half day Adjudicators Assessment Workshop (AAW). A call for applications by 22 December 2005 for the next AAW was sent to Member Associations in November 2005. Applications are presently being reviewed, and if there are sufficient qualified candidates, the workshop will take place in the UK in March 2006. Late applications may be considered (please contact FIDIC and consult FIDIC.org/dab. |
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Young Professionals
2006
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FIDIC's new training centre in India was successfully launched in New Delhi on 12-13 December 2005 with a FIDIC contracts seminar (see 
The programme for the 2006 International Consulting Engineering Conference (Budapest, September) organized by FIDIC with the European federation EFCA and their national Member Association AHCEA-Hungary, will adopt a novel, business-oriented format. Following plenary presentations to set the scene, workshops on best-practice procurement and project implementation will focus on new tools that are being developed for procuring and implementing projects. A third stream addresses critical issues that will affect firms as they prepare for tomorrow. Examples at the local, regional and global levels will then show how the new approaches can be applied in the marketplace. Full details will be available at 
Following the FIDIC 2005 Conference in Beijing, a FIDIC delegation that included Jorge Díaz Padilla, FIDIC President, John Boyd, FIDIC Vice-President, and Richard Kell, immediate Past-President, made an official visit to Shanghai in September 2005 to meet Mr. Zhou Yupeng, the city's Vice-Mayor, other senior government officials and the heads of local consulting engineering firms. At a meeting with Mr. Zhou, discussions were held on the role of consulting engineers in preparing for the 2010 Shanghai World Fair (see 
The successful fusion in 2002 of ASINCE and Tecniberia-Civil, Spain's two consulting engineering associations, into an enlarged Tecniberia/ASINCE was hailed as a model of collaboration for the industry during celebrations in Madrid in October 2005 marking Tecniberia's 40th anniversary (see