Several committees undergo significant change
[full item: 48De]
 The Executive Committee meeting just before the 2006 International Consulting Engineering Conference (Budapest; 24-27 September) agreed to appoint Axel Jaeger (shown in the photo speaking at the conference) to replace Chris Wade as the chair of the Contracts Committee. Chris, who had asked to step down in August 2006, was a member of drafting groups that prepared the 1999 suite of works contracts, and he became the chair in 1999. He has been heavily involved in developing the Short Form and Dredgers contracts, the new edition of the Client/Consultant Model Services Agreement and the Multilateral Development Bank harmonised Construction Contract. He will remain on the committee, which at present oversees task groups for the new design-build-operate contract, for updating the sub-consultant and joint venture agreements and the 1994 document Tendering Procedure, and for a subcontract to the Construction and Plant contracts.
The Executive Committee also accepted Tonny Jensen's request to stand down as the convenor of the Quality Management Forum, a position he has occupied for several years since joining the forum in 1996. Tonny has made selfless contributions to the industry, notably in Quality Management and Integrity Management. He led the drafting team that prepared the 2001 editions of Guide to Quality Management in the consulting engineering industry, A guide to the interpretation and application of the ISO 9001:2000 Standard for the consulting engineering industry and Quality management in the consulting engineering industry training kit. He also helped coordinate the Quality Management activities of the International Standards Organization. More recently, he piloted the development of Integrity Management with partner organizations, notably Transparency International and the UN Global Compact.
As reported in the FIDIC Review 2005-2006, the Executive Committee decided in early-2006 to upgrade the Risk Management Forum (RMF) to a full committee - the Risk and Liability Committee. Stephen Bamforth, the RMF convenor, has become a committee member and chair of a task group responsible for completing major updates of FIDIC's Risk Management publications. Another task group (for professional indemnity insurance and liability) will be chaired by Kevin Corbett and organized jointly with the European Federation of Engineering Consultancy Associations, EFCA. Finally, John Ritchie has stepped down as the chair of the Capacity Building Committee, but remains a committee member.
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China certification programme agreement signed
[full item: 49De]
 FIDIC signed an agreement in February 2001 with CNAEC-China and Tsinghua University, Beijing, to establish a training centre that has been actively training members of the China consulting engineering industry in various aspects of FIDIC contracts and the FIDIC Guide to Practice. In an historic next step, the partners signed an agreement at the 2006 International Consulting Engineering Conference (Budapest, 24-17 September) to extend the activity to include the elements of a certification programme based on the recording of course attendance and exam results, the completion of a formal curriculum, and procedures to maintain certification. The photo shows, from the left, Jorge Diaz Padilla, FIDIC President, congratulating Professor Yang Jiaqing, Tshinghu University, and She Jianming, CNAEC Chairman.
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FIDIC BIMS well received in Vietnam and Malaysia
[full item: 27Et]
Both public and private sector interests received enthusiastically Jorge Diaz Padilla, FIDIC President, and Enrico Vink, FIDIC Managing Director, in July 2006 at FIDIC Seminars arranged in conjunction with the FIDIC Member Associations VECAS-Vietnam and ACEM-Malaysia. Governments in east and south Asia are increasingly conscious of the negative impact that corruption has had on investment opportunities, and are therefore anxious to find ways of effectively dealing with ingrained systems that encourage corrupt practices. FIDIC's Business Integrity Management System is seen as offering a practical tool for both consulting engineers and clients. Such is the interest that an in-depth BIMS training seminar will be held on 11-12 December 2006 in Kuala Lumpur, using FIDIC experts as the main speakers, with senior government officials setting the national scene and reviewing Malaysia's National Integrity Plan (see website).
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Collaboration on anticorruption envisaged
[full item: 32Im]
With increased global concern about corrupt business practices in all its forms, and the increased pressure on the private sector to continue to take positive steps, those parts of the sector which are heavily involved in a significant part of the world's infrastructure are seeking ways to drive forward coordinated and coherent anticorruption initiatives. An unprecedented meeting took place in Geneva just before the 2006 International Consulting Engineering Conference (Budapest; 24-27 September) with the Confederation of International Construction Associations, CICA, representing the world's contracting industries, and the European International Contractors, EIC. It allowed FIDIC, CICA and EIC to explore in detail the issues in order to develop a joint plan of action. The plan, which was endorsed by both the FIDIC Executive Committee and the FIDIC General Assembly that met before and during the conference, envisages the presentation of draft guidelines for a Government Procurement Integrity Management System (GPIMS) to the multilateral development banks. The guidelines, based on FIDIC's Business Integrity Management System guidelines for firms and tailored for demand-side integrity management in government procurement, have been drafted by FIDIC's Integrity Management Committee. They will be released shortly for comment by both FIDIC Member Associations and CICA.
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Meetings: see Meetings
Executive Committee, New Dehli, 29-30 Jan 06
MA Letters
10/06: Press releases PDF
12/06: GAM 2007 Draft Minutes PDF
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Young Professionals
2007
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With over 600 participants from 64 countries, the first ever International Consulting Engineering Conference that was organized in Budapest on 24 -27 September 2006 by FIDIC and the European Federation of Engineering Consultancy Associations, EFCA, was hailed as a major success, with both well rounded content and excellent networking opportunities. Hungary's AHCEA, the host association, was able to demonstrate the best of Hungarian hospitality, and a wealth of history, in setting the scene for the conference and its focus on the industry's crossroads. Yann Leblais, EFCA President, is seen on the right of the photo, next to Jorge Diaz Padilla, FIDIC President. They are enjoying a moment during the plenary session where John Gamble, on the left, Adam Thornton (partially hidden), and Bayo Adeola reported on their workshops.
Thirty enthusiastic young managers from 26 countries ended the FIDIC 2006 Young Professionals Management Training Programme with a Young Leaders Workshop at the International Consulting Engineering Conference (Budapest; 24 -27 September - see photo). The young professionals shared with a receptive audience their vision for the future (see presentation in 
Following very successful regional networking seminars and board meetings that took place during the 2006 International Consulting Engineering Conference (Budapest; 24-27 September), Kok King Min, the chair of the Executive Committee of the ASPCA Asia-Pacific group of FIDIC Member Associations, has informed the FIDIC Executive Committee of a new ASPAC executive comprising Aki Hirotani, Japan (chair), Adam Thornton, New Zealand, K.K. Kapilla, India, Karamat Chaudry, Pakistan, Salvador Castro, Philippines, and Yap Kok Ming, Singapore. Lailum Ekram, Bangladesh, remains as an adviser to the chair and Subhash Mehrotra, India, remains as the FIDIC Executive Committee Responsible. ASPAC has also agreed to cooperate with the regional technical programme TCDPAP in the organization of the 2007 FIDIC ASPAC-TCDPAP Regional Conference (Lahore, Pakistan; 20-22 March). ASPAC presentations to the Presidents and General Assembly Meetings in Budapest are available at 
Concerted effort by a dedicated team of volunteers and experts based around a Contracts Committee drafting group led by Ewan MacGregor has seen a rapid review and drafting of a new edition (the 4th) of the all-important FIDIC Client/Consultant Model Services Agreement, the "White Book". The revised edition is designed to align with the FIDIC 1999 suite of works contracts (the Construction, Plant and Design-Build, and EPC/Turnkey conditions of contract) and to specify more precisely the Particular Conditions that should be completed.